Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46) and Young Kim (CA-40) on July 24 led a letter with bipartisan group of their colleagues to Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) to support the inclusion of CalOptima Health’s proposed Safety Net Behavioral Health Workforce Development Program and request its consideration by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies in Fiscal Year 2025 federal funding legislation.
“We strongly support the request for $5 million to create this innovative program, which will expand access to critical behavioral health services for Orange County’s most vulnerable residents,” the Members wrote. “This program will increase the supply and diversity of behavioral health care workers who locally serve those in need in our communities, including our Medi-Cal beneficiaries.”
CalOptima Health serves nearly one of every three Orange County residents, but Orange County has fewer licensed psychiatrists, clinical social workers, psychologists, and psychiatric technicians than the state average. These shortages have limited the availability of care to Orange County residents and the ability of the healthcare workforce to reflect the diverse backgrounds of the communities they serve.
“As Orange County’s publicly operated health plan for low-income children, adults, seniors, and people with disabilities, CalOptima Health… is uniquely positioned to lead efforts and partner with educational institutions, health systems, and community clinics to identify and expand the supply and diversity of our safety net behavioral health providers,” the Members continued. “For these reasons, we enthusiastically support CalOptima Health’s CDS request to create the Safety Net Behavioral Health Workforce Development Program.”
In addition to Reps. Correa and Kim, this letter was also signed by Representatives Mike Levin (CA-49), Michelle Steel (CA-47), and Linda T. Sanchez (CA-38).
As the national health care system faces a severe shortage of behavioral health professionals, the California Future Health Workforce Commission projected that California would lack a third of the psychiatrists required to serve patients in need within only ten years. These shortages and diversity disparities are more pronounced in the Medi-Cal program and have further accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can read the full text of the letter HERE.
