CA AB2697

Codifies community health worker services as a covered Medi-Cal benefit, following federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approval on July 26, 2022.

Requires Medi-Cal managed care plans to conduct outreach and education to enrollees including descriptions of the benefit, lists of authorized referral providers, lists of contracted community health worker entities, and contact information for additional information.

Mandates outreach and education efforts meet cultural and linguistic appropriateness standards as determined by the department.

Requires the department to inform stakeholders and accept input on implementation of community health worker services through existing stakeholder processes.

Implementation contingent on federal financial participation availability and necessary federal approvals; allows department to implement through policy letters and provider bulletins without formal regulatory action.