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OCA outlines approach to measure behavioral health spending and proposes phased benchmark
Summary
OCA presented a phased plan to define and measure behavioral health spending as a share of total health care expenditures, proposing three measurement modules and a benchmark approach that may focus on targeted areas (e.g., community/outpatient services); staff said initial measurement will use commercial and Medicare Advantage data and will incorporate DHCS input for Medi-Cal later.
The Office of Health Care Affordability (OCA) presented an initial framework for defining behavioral health spending and setting an investment benchmark, telling the board the work will be phased and will begin with commercial and Medicare Advantage data while DHCS and other state partners are engaged for Medi‑Cal and other public programs.
Margarita Brandt, assistant deputy director, introduced the behavioral health investment work stream and said the work aims to measure the percent of total health care expenditures allocated to behavioral health and to set a spending benchmark that advances statewide priorities such as access, equity and integration with primary care. Debbie Lindes, health care delivery system group manager, walked the board through a three-module proposal: claims‑based behavioral health spending, non‑claims payments, and a separately measured behavioral health‑in‑primary‑care module that counts…
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