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Approve a contract with Solano Coalition for Better Health for $75,000 for outreach services and to increase the number of well-child visits and childhood immunizations for April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019; and Authorize the County Administrator to execute the contract
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Published Notice Required? Yes ___ No _x _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ___ No _x_
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Health & Social Services (H&SS) recommends that the Board approve a contract with Solano Coalition for Better Health (SCBH) for $75,000 for outreach services and to increase the number of well-child visits and childhood immunizations for April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019 and authorize the County Administrator to execute the contract.
SUMMARY:
In Solano County, Partnership HealthPlan and County data show that children enrolled in Medi-Cal attend their primary care appointments at lower levels than recommended as measured by the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) (compiled by the National Committee for Quality Assurance) which is illustrated in the low number of well-child visits and childhood immunizations.
On June 19, 2018 the Board of Supervisors approved $150,000 to Solano Coalition for Better Health (SCBH) to increase well-child visits and childhood immunizations as part of the FY2018/19 Non-County Contributions. The original concept for the contract was that SCBH would work with Solano County Family Health Services to facilitate well-child visits including immunizations at County operated clinics. SCBH also received funding from Kaiser and Covered California for the purpose of enrolling children in Medi-Cal and, as a result, had existing staff working with other health clinic locations and requested that they be permitted to conduct well-child and immunization outreach for other locations as well. Due to prolonged negotiations over the contract scope and data sharing, the contract was not finalized until recently; however, SCBH conducted outreach, facilitated scheduling of well-child visits, and conducted reminder contacts and appointment follow up contacts for health care clinics.
The County Department of Health and Social Services negotiated a scope of work for a total contract amount of $75,000 which reflects the deliverables that SCBH provided.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The contract will be funded out of the County General Fund Non-County Contributions allocation approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 19, 2018 for SCBH. The amount of the contract to be paid reflects the performance and deliverables of SCBH for FY2018/19. The balance of the unspent funds will revert to FY2018/19 fund balance. The costs associated with preparing this agenda Item are nominal and are included in the H&SS FY2019/20 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
It is important that every child attend their well-child visits as these provide critical opportunities to assess their physical, emotional and social development.
In Partnership HealthPlan of California’s (PHC) Southeast Region, Solano County has the lowest score when measuring the number of children, 3-6 years of age, that attend their well-child visits. Source: “PHC/HEDIS Regional Performance for Report Year 2018.”
A nationally-accepted model for measuring quality is the HEDIS. When viewing the number of children 3-6 years of age who received at least one well-child visit (HEDIS’ “W34” metric) Solano County’s scores have decreased from prior years. Based on the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s ranking of Medicaid benchmarks, Solano is currently in the 25th percentile when compared to others, nationwide and locally. Similarly, for childhood immunizations (the “CIS-3” metric) Solano County is in the 50th percentile of national Medicaid scores. By comparison, Napa County ranks in the 90th percentile. Health & Social Services has been working with SCBH to increase the number of children that attend well child visits and receive appropriate immunizations.
SCBH formed in 1988 to facilitate discussions between public and non-profit providers of health care services. SCBH focuses on the development of community programs to address health issues among the medically underserved, uninsured, and vulnerable individuals in Solano County. For this contract, SCBH helped to increase the number of children that attend well-child visits and receive appropriate immunizations.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may choose not to approve the contract with SCBH. This is not recommended because there were services provided that supported the need to increase the number of children that receive proper primary care and Solano County ranks on the lower end, locally and nationally, on measures related to well child visits and child immunizations.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Solano County Health & Social Services worked with the County Administrator’s Office and County Counsel to develop the contract with Solano Coalition for Better Health. Additionally, the Department worked with Partnership HealthPlan of California to understand the quality metrics.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION