Overview

California implemented the Whole Person Care (WPC) Pilot program under “Medi-Cal 2020,” a Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver program designed to coordinate the care of high-utilizing Medi-Cal beneficiaries across medical, behavioral health, and social service sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders began in mid-March 2020, during the last year of WPC implementation, and disrupted California’s plans to transition WPC enrollees into a new program under the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative. Read this policy brief to learn the impact of the pandemic on WPC implementation, enrollment, and health service utilization.

Pourat N, O’Masta B, Haley LA, Zhou W, Chuang E. 2022. Whole Person Care Program Successfully Navigated Around COVID-19 Challenges in 2020. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.