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DHCS details birthing care pathway changes and $17M pilot for payment reform in Central Valley
Summary
The Department of Health Care Services described a birthing care pathway roadmap, policy updates to sustain community health workers and doulas as Medi‑Cal providers, and a $17 million federal pilot to test a transporting maternal health payment model in five Central Valley counties.
Chris Esguerra of the Department of Health Care Services told legislators the department is revising policy to improve continuity across prenatal, delivery and postpartum care, and to remove administrative barriers that have limited payments to community health workers and doulas. He said the department has completed about 30 policy updates and plans to finish 42 by year‑end.
Esguerra also described a federal pilot selected for California that will test value‑based payment approaches in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, funded with roughly $17,000,000 in federal dollars to rethink how maternal care is paid for across the full pregnancy and postpartum pathway. "We have $17,000,000 in federal funding to test this out," he said.
He emphasized the work is early and community‑informed: the pilot will require engagement with local stakeholders, a CMS submission, and testing of infrastructure and payment models designed to anchor outcomes and accountability across transitions of care.
