Good afternoon,
My name is Dennis Hsieh, the new Chief Medical Officer at Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance).
I am writing to inform you that your practice is eligible for a new grant program through the Department of Health Care Services called the Equity and Practice Transformation Payments Program (EPT).
EPT is a one-time, primary care provider practice transformation program to advance health equity and reduce COVID-19-driven care disparities. This is an opportunity to receive funding for the things you are already doing or would like to be doing to support your practice and your patients.
DHCS will be:
- Investing in upstream care models and partnerships to address health and wellness.
- Funding practice transformation in partnership with managed care plans like the Alliance.
The goal of the program is to push practice transformation to address health equity and population health, and to move toward value-based care. Program details can be found on the DHCS webpage.
Information sessions
We will be holding weekly one-hour information sessions on Wednesdays through October 18, 2023 to help complete the pre-application survey and the application. The September sessions will focus on the survey and the October sessions on the applications. Alliance staff will provide instructions, demonstrations and answer questions. Your survey and application may be filled out during this time.
Visit the RSVP page to view time slots and sign up.
I really look forward to seeing you at one of the optional information sessions to answer your questions and help you get started with your grant application.
Warmly,
Dennis Hsieh, MD, JD
Chief Medical Officer, Central California Alliance for Health
[email protected]
More details on the EPT program
Application
There are three major steps to apply for the EPT program:
- Complete the pre-application survey. This required step will help practices identify their specific areas of improvement for the program. It is highly recommended to fill out the survey by September 29, 2023 to allow sufficient time to complete the application.
- Review the Provider Directed Payment Program Application Instructions prior to completing the application itself, because the application must be completed in one session.
- Complete the web-based application in one session. This must be completed by a person who has signature authority.
Timeline
- October 23, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.: Applications are due.
- October 23-November 27, 2023: The Alliance will review applications and submit the ones they recommend to DHCS for approval.
- December 11, 2023: DHCS will announce selected practices.
The program will start on January 1, 2024 and continue through December 31, 2028.
Funding
The maximum amount of payments a practice may receive is based on the number of assigned Medi-Cal (inclusive of D-SNP) members under an active Medi-Cal managed care plan contract at the time of application.
The state is still determining the frequency of activity/milestone reporting, the means of submission and the frequency of payments. Funding per practice is divided proportionally by the number of activities that the practice selects (e.g., if the practice is approved for 8 program activities, then each activity would be allocated 1/8 of the approved funding).
| Number of Assigned Medi-Cal (including D-SNP) Members at Time of Application | Maximum Payment |
| 500-1,000 | $375,000 |
| 1,001-2,000 | $600,000 |
| 2,001-5,000 | $1,000,000 |
| 5,001-10,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 10,001-20,000 | $2,250,000 |
| 20,001-40,000 | $3,750,000 |
| 40,001-60,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 60,001-80,000 | $7,000,000 |
| 80,001-100,000 | $9,000,000 |
| 100,001 or more | $10,000,0000 |
Categories and activities
There are eight categories of activities, broken up into five optional and three required categories for all practices applying.
For “Empanelment & Access” and “Technology and Data”, practices must apply for all activities in these categories or attest that they have already completed these activities. If a practice has completed these activities but wants to do further work, the practice can still apply in these categories.
For the third required category, “Patient-Centered, Population-Based Care,” all practices must choose a focus population, a sub-population and commit to all listed activities.
Milestones for financial payments are still being developed and are anticipated to be available in Q4 2024.
| Required Categories | Other Categories (Optional) |
| Empanelment & Access | Evidence-Based Models of Care |
| Technology & Data | Value-Based Care & Alternative Payment Methodologies |
| Patient-Centered, Population-Based Care | Leadership & Culture |
| Behavioral Health | |
| Social Health |
Details of the 8 categories will be shared separately.
Statewide Learning Collaborative
Participation in the EPT program will require attendance at DHCS-sponsored monthly meetings. The timing of these collaboratives is still being determined, but required formal meetings will be no more often than 2-3 hours once a month.
