Affordable Care Act
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Affordable Care Act

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act underway in California and nationwide, it is important that members receive timely information on the ACA's impacts on mental health services and mental health professionals. Below are links to CAMFT articles about the ACA and Covered CA, the latest developments related to its implementation, an FAQ section to help answer members' most frequently asked questions about the ACA, and links to relevant websites.

Covered CA Announces Insurance Plans and Rates for 2015
On July 31st, Covered California announced that consumers will see only minor increases in their health insurance premiums in 2015. In some cases, consumers will see no change in the cost of their healthcare premiums or even a decrease in the cost of their premiums. Those consumers whose premiums are increasing will see, on average, an increase of 4.2 percent in the cost of their healthcare coverage.

Covered California selected the following health insurance companies to participate in the state health exchange in 2015:

  • Anthem Blue Cross of California
  • Blue Shield of California
  • Chinese Community Health Plan
  • Health Net
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • L.A. Care Health Plan
  • Molina Healthcare
  • Sharp Health Plan
  • Valley Health Plan
  • Western Health Advantage

Medi-Cal System Improvement Update
The Department of Health Care Services ("DHCS)" will be submitting a State Plan Amendment to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") to officially recognize LMFTs as Medi-Cal providers and to allow the use of pre-licensees as mental health providers through the Medi-Cal Managed Care system. At a February 21, 2014, DHCS representatives indicated the SPA will be submitted to CMS by the end of this quarter. For more information on Affordable Care Act/Medi-Cal expansion updates, visit CAMFT's website at camft.org/ACA.