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Diaper access program draws scrutiny over vendor selection and public‑contract exemption
Summary
HCAI described a hospital‑distribution diaper pilot and a planned second phase for direct‑to‑consumer purchasing. Members pressed officials about Baby2Baby's selection under a public contract code exemption and asked for metrics and transparency. HCAI says procurement used an RFI and interview process; Chair called vendor optics "not good at all."
HCAI officials told the subcommittee the diaper access initiative will distribute free diapers to newborns at participating hospitals (phase 1), followed by a phase‑2 direct‑to‑consumer ecommerce option. HCAI said hospitals in higher‑Medi‑Cal and lower Healthy Places Index quartiles will be prioritized and that monthly vendor reporting will show numbers of hospitals and diapers distributed.
Committee members asked why the same special‑purpose fund could not fully cover earlier data‑exchange requests and pressed the department on use of a public contract code (PCC) exemption to negotiate a streamlined contract with Baby2Baby for hospital distribution. Scott Christman (HCAI) explained the program used an RFI followed by interviews and negotiation under an existing PCC exemption the 2025 budget act had authorized; the exemption was inadvertently left out of year‑two budget language and the May Revision corrects that omission.
Chair Menjivar questioned the optics of the selection and warned it could expose the administration to criticism. "The optics of this vendor is not good at all," the chair said, adding that the department should be prepared to defend both process and outcomes. HCAI said the initial contract was roughly $6.2M for year‑one hospital distribution and that year two would be larger (roughly $11–12M for diapers, with other operations funded from the remainder of a $12.5M ask). Officials also said HCAI will require monthly reporting on hospital reach and diapers distributed and will evaluate the program after two years to define permanent ongoing maintenance needs.
