(a) (1) The department shall contract with an independent entity that has experience in performing robust program evaluations to conduct an evaluation to assess Medi-Cal managed care plan performance and the outcomes and the experience of CCS-eligible children and youth participating in the Whole Child Model program, including access to primary and specialty care, and youth transitions from Whole Child Model program to adult Medi-Cal coverage.

(2) The department shall provide a report on the results of this evaluation required pursuant to this section to the Legislature by January 1, 2021, or three years from the date when all counties described in Section 14094.5 are fully operational under the Whole Child Model program pursuant to this article, whichever is later. A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(b) The evaluation required by this section, at a minimum, shall evaluate the performance of the plans participating in the Whole Child Model program as compared to the performance of the CCS program prior to the implementation of the Whole Child Model program in those same counties. The evaluation shall evaluate whether the inclusion of CCS services in a managed care delivery system improves access to care, quality of care, and the patient experience by analyzing all of the following, and when possible, disaggregating the results, based on the child’s or youth’s race, ethnicity, and primary language spoken at home:

(1) Access to specialty and primary care, and in particular, utilization of CCS-paneled providers.

(2) The type and location of CCS services and the extent to which CCS services are provided in-network compared to out of network.

(3) Utilization rates of inpatient admissions, outpatient services, durable medical equipment, behavioral health services, home health, pharmacy, and other ancillary services.

(4) Patient and family satisfaction.

(5) Appeals and grievances, including the number of petitions to the plan to extend the continuity of care period for durable medical equipment and CCS providers, the results of those appeals, whether any subsequent appeals were made to the department, and the results of those appeals to the department.

(6) Authorization of CCS-eligible services.

(7) Network and provider participation, including participation of pediatricians, pediatric specialists, and pediatric subspecialists, by specialty and subspecialty.

(8) The ability of a child or youth who ages out of CCS and remains in the same Medi-Cal managed care plan to retain his or her existing providers, to the extent possible or known.

(c) The evaluation required by this section shall also evaluate managed care plans participating in the Whole Child Model program as compared to the CCS program in counties where CCS services are not incorporated into managed care, and collect appropriate data to evaluate all of the following:

(1) The rate of new CCS enrollment in each county.

(2) The percentage of CCS-eligible children and youth with a diagnosis requiring a referral to a CCS special care center who have been seen by a CCS special care center.

(3) The percentage of CCS children and youth discharged from a hospital who had at least one followup contact or visit within 28 days after discharge.

(4) Appeals and grievances.

(d) The department shall consult with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the Whole Child Model program stakeholder advisory group, regarding the scope and structure of the review.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 511, Sec. 23. (AB 1688) Effective January 1, 2018.)