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Partnership Health Plan warns HR 1, BHSA changes could disrupt Medi‑Cal continuity in Plumas County
Summary
A Partnership Health Plan presenter told the Plumas County Behavioral Health Commission that federal HR 1 and state Behavioral Health Services Act changes could increase eligibility redeterminations and interrupt Medi‑Cal coverage; Partnership offered outreach resources and county‑specific supports and will send slides and local data.
Shahrukh Trishti, senior manager of child welfare programs for Partnership Health Plan, told the Plumas County Behavioral Health Commission that federal and state policy changes are already creating risks of coverage interruptions for vulnerable Medi‑Cal members.
"HR 1 ... significantly reduces Medicaid funding and tightens eligibility rules," Trishti said, warning the commission that more frequent eligibility redeterminations and new administrative responsibilities will increase "churn" and create extra outreach and enrollment work for counties and health plans. Trishti said Partnership’s "keep your Medi‑Cal" campaign provides multilingual materials and links to help members renew on time.
Partnership serves 24 northern counties, Trishti said, and is preparing to support Plumas County residents through increased care coordination, enhanced care management (ECM), community supports and a behavioral health access line. Trishti described the access line and referral process: callers can reach the BH access team at an 855 number (access hours 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday) for screenings and help connecting to nonspecialty providers; more complex or specialty cases are referred to Plumas County Behavioral Health.
Commissioners asked practical questions about dual eligibility (Medicare and Medi‑Cal), transportation for in‑person services and the role of telehealth. A Partnership supervisor said some members qualify for both Medicare and Medi‑Cal and that Partnership can provide additional, detailed information on dual‑eligible pathways on request. Partnership said it can help arrange transportation where needed and that many members opt for telehealth options in the nonspecialty network.
Trishti urged partnership with county child welfare, First 5 and other local agencies under mandated memoranda of understanding required of managed care plans. "We would love to continue to closely partner with the county on BHSA integrated planning and CalAIM alignment," Trishti said, offering to provide the commission with the slide deck and county‑level data that show how many Plumas County residents were connected to Partnership's Carillon network.
Commission members said they wanted Plumas‑specific counts and outcomes. Partnership representatives said they would send the slides and data, and offered to return with a focused presentation on dual‑eligible members if the commission requested it.
The presentation closed with an offer to exchange contact information and follow up offline to coordinate community supports, housing referrals and ECM/CS (community supports) provider readiness in Plumas County.
