Dear [Your Elected Official],

<p>I am a constituent and I strongly supports AB 2428 by Assemblymember<br />Calderon, which would require the Medi-Cal reimbursement for Community-Based Adult<br />Services (CBAS) to be an amount equal to or greater than the amount paid for the same service in the Medi-Cal fee-for-service delivery system. In other words, this bill creates a “rate floor” for CBAS; Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCPs) can pay more but not less.</p> <p>This is important because four managed care plans failed to restore the CBAS rate in 2019 when the Legislature removed the 10% rate cut that was put in place during the Great Recession. The managed care plans were given the restored funds at their actuarially set rate but did not pass it along to the CBAS providers. AB 2428 will prevent MCPs from using contract technicalities to continue paying below the published rate in the future.</p> <p>Adult Day Programs, like CBAS, provide cost-effective supports for older and disabled adults and respite to family caregivers. A day program may mean the difference between a caregiver keeping their job or having to quit to stay home and provide care. Additionally, Adult Day Health Programs are a valuable community resource<br />that empowers people to remain living at home and in the community. The closure of programs during both the recession and COVID-19 has been devastating and hard to recover from, especially as we prepare for 25% of our population to be 60 and older in 5.5 short years.<br /><br />AB 2428 is a small but important step in correcting the CBAS inequity in rates that the<br />Legislature intended to remedy by making the Medi-Cal rate the absolute floor for these vital programs. We urgently need this help so we can continue to keep our doors open to support the well-being of low-income and disabled elders to continue to live with dignity and independence outside of institutions.</p>