YoloCares awarded $2.85 million in funding from the state

YoloCares awarded $2.85 million in funding from the state

September 12, 2024 — YoloCares, the Sacramento Valley’s oldest end-of-life care agency, was awarded $2.85 million in funding from the State of California to support the development of services for CalAIM, the state’s newly expanded MediCal program.

The grant was made possible by California’s Providing Access and Transforming Health Capacity and Infrastructure Transitions, Expansion and Development (PATH CITED) Initiative which provides funding to agencies to facilitate the increase of resources in order to provide the expanded benefits under CalAIM.

In May, YoloCares was credentialed to be an Enhanced Care Management Site by Partnership Health Plan of California, a nonprofit community-based health care organization that contracts with the state to administer Medi-Cal benefits through local care providers to ensure Medi-Cal recipients have access to high quality care. This distinction enables YoloCares to formally act as a service provider for CalAIM benefits.

Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is one of numerous new statewide Medi-Cal benefits available to eligible members with complex needs such as serious illness, housing insecurity, or recent institutionalization. ECM will connect beneficiaries with a single Care Manager who will coordinate their health-related care and services. Under this benefit, members will also receive connections to social services, community resources, and programs that will help facilitate healthier, more stable lifestyles.

The more than $2.85 million in funding will support the hiring of 17 positions, including clinicians and administrative staff, and technology needs such as laptops and new electronic medical record software. Funds will also be utilized for consulting services to develop administrative infrastructure and apply for additional contracts as a service provider for Community Supports, another avenue of benefits under CalAIM that provides respite care and transitional care services among other resources.

“YoloCares has been a pillar of support for vulnerable seniors and their families for over 45 years by guiding countless individuals through the final stages of their healthcare journey. We are thrilled that California is recognizing the benefits of services like palliative care and case management and is now offering a pathway to reimbursement for agencies,” says Louise Joyce, director of community programs.

The total amount of funding will be the highest amount that the agency has received since its inception in 1979. With the average PATH CITED grant amount hovering around $1.1 million, Craig Dresang, CEO of YoloCares, sees this as the Golden State’s recognition of YoloCares’ position as an industry leader.

“Over the last decade, YoloCares has grown to address community needs as they become a rising problem, from expanding respite care and opening an adult day program to being the first Sacramento-area agency to offer community-based palliative care. We recognize the changing needs of our aging population and are proud to be at the forefront of California’s evolving healthcare landscape,” says Dresang.