Provider Alerts

The Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) received All Plan Letter APL 22-007 Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program. The purpose of this APL is to provide Medi-Cal managed care health plans (MCPs) guidance on the incentive payments linked to the Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) implemented by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in accordance with the Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Spending Plan. A summary of HHIP and the APL is included below. A full copy of the APL can also be found via this link on the DHCS website:

https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/Documents/MMCDAPLsandPolicyLetters/APL2022/APL22-007.pdf.

In accordance with section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 and Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Spending Plan initiatives, the Housing and Homeless Incentive Program (HHIP) is a voluntary incentive program to enable MCPs to earn incentive funds by addressing homelessness and housing insecurity through varied efforts and program measures. As key goals, HHIP is intended to support delivery and coordination of health and housing services for Medi-Cal members by:

• Rewarding managed care plans for developing the necessary capacity and partnerships to connect their members to needed housing services; and
• Incentivizing managed care plans to take an active role in reducing and preventing homelessness.
• Addressing homelessness and housing security as social determinants of health which impact health outcomes.

Effective January 1, 2022, the DHCS implemented HHIP. HHIP is a voluntary incentive program for plans, but strongly encouraged. HPSJ is participating for both San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

DHCS APL 22-007 Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program information continues on page two.

The incentive program period is expected to be effective from January 1,2022 to December 31,2023 or dates as determined by DHCS. The program period will be distributed between two distinct Program Years (PY) with three distinct measurement periods and submissions from the plan to DHCS.

• PY 1 (January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022), and:
• PY 2 (January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023)

HPSJ will be working closely with local partners including, but not limited to: local Continuums of Care (CoCs), counties, public health agencies, organizations that deliver housing services, county mental health plans (MHPs), and Drug Medi-Cal and Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) in efforts to meet the program’s goals and to report on measures.

HHIP aims to bolster housing and homelessness-focused efforts with the aim of building or expanding capacity and partnerships to connect members to needed housing services, increasing data sharing capabilities, and achieving measurable progress in reducing and preventing homelessness. HPSJ will be working to maximize investments with select local partners who are leading housing and homelessness-related efforts on the ground and most directly supporting and assisting the vulnerable population.

Additional information on HHIP can be found via the following link https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Pages/Housing-and-Homelessness-IncentiveProgram.aspx

You may contact our Customer Service Department with any questions or concerns, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, at 1-888-936-PLAN (7526), TDD/TYY 711. Thank you for your continued support of Health Plan of San Joaquin. You may also visit https://www.hpsj.com/alerts/ for online access to this document and additional provider alerts previously shared. The most recent information about Health Plan of San Joaquin and our services is always available on our website https://www.hpsj.com/.