Finance Program Modification

SD/MHSA Program Modification

REQUEST AN INQUIRY FOR CONTRACT MODIFICATION CONSIDERATION

Submissions are accepted from July to January of the current fiscal year starting July 1st.

Potential Program Modification requests should be discussed first with your Contract Managers. Once they have been discussed and vetted, your Contract Manager will initiate the Program Modification request on your behalf via DocuSign. Formal Program Modifications will be accepted from July through to January starting of the current fiscal year starting July 1st. Program Modification must be received no later than the following dates to correspond with respective quarterly changes:

By October (for updates executed for mid-year Amendments)
By January (for updates executed for renewals)

Note: The due dates change each fiscal year. Before each new fiscal year, Contracts Administration will send a memo to all County Contracted Providers (CCPs) with specific dates for each bi-annual change.

Outline of the Program Modification Workflow:

BHSD’s program staff and agency’s program staff work together to identify programs needing a modification.
BHSD’s program staff will email agency a link to begin the modification process.

Read the sections following the entry form area, titled Program Modifications and Rate Changes before proceeding with a request to modify a program.

Program Modification Requests may be submitted at any time during the fiscal year. Submissions will be processed in the next submission window. It’s recommended the agencies submit any time during the window and not wait until the deadline. Waiting until the last week may cause delays causing the request to be slipped to the next period.

Late submissions will not be accepted and will be pushed to the following period.
The above Program Modification dates are specific to the Mental Health Short/Doyle contracts.

Substance Use Treatment Services (SUTS) Program Modification

If your agency wants to make a program modification to a SUTS contract, contact your program monitor to start the process. SUTS modifications are done on an as needed basis throughout the fiscal year.

Service Agreement Program Modification

If your agency wants to make a program modification to a Service Agreement, contact your program monitor to start the process. Service Agreement modifications are done on an as needed basis throughout the fiscal year.

Program Modifications

Given the requirements of network adequacy - including timeliness and access, the Behavioral Health Services Department (BHSD) will be expanding Program Modification submissions to all those issues related to contract capacity. Contract capacity will refer to the ability or the potential ability to take on or limit additional clients within a singular program (e.g., Outpatient, etc.) or a series of related programs (e.g., School Linked Services, etc.).

The Department requests that Agencies closely monitor and manage their own operational capacity based on available reports and discussions with their Contract Managers to ensure that they do not exceed current contracted capacity. Once an Agency nears their contractual obligations, the Agency should immediately contact the Division Director to discuss and develop a plan to ensure that the Agency does not exceed contracted capacity (without first approval from the Department). Such plans might include a “step down” of clients who are appropriate for lower levels of care, closing out client cases for those who have been 90 days without service, or implementing a temporary cessation of referrals, etc.

Finance offers a Program Modification template for use in the submission of a program modification. A program modification requires that the submitter have a good knowledge of their program’s average active slot capacity. The template’s tab labeled “Modification Requirements” outlines the requirements for submission. Program Modifications should be submitted and will be accepted between July and January of the current fiscal year.

Steps to Take to Complete Program Modification

Agency downloads the MH Program Modification template from this website. The agency may also request the file from the Program Monitor or a member of the Finance team
The Agency populates the template with data from their Exhibit B
- Programs may request finance to pre-populate the MH Program Modification template. If pre-populated, the program monitor will send the pre-populated template to the agency
Agency works with program monitor to discuss the requested changes
The program monitor submits the template to finance for review and corrections
Finance returns the final template to program monitor for review with agency
Upon approval, the changes will be implemented in the next quarter modification

Rate Changes

The Behavioral Health Services Department (BHSD) offers all contracted agencies the opportunity to propose a justification for an increase or decrease in their interim negotiated rates and to change their contracted Medi-Cal expenses. All rate changes are applied retroactively to the beginning of the current fiscal year. All requested changes in rates will be evaluated based on the agency’s performance, the agency’s costs to provide services, and the BHSD’s goals and needs. Rate Change requests should be submitted and will be accepted between July and January of the current fiscal year. All rate changes are retro-active to the beginning of the current fiscal year.

Actual Costs

If the initial current fiscal year interim contract rates were the same as the prior fiscal year interim contract rates and current circumstances have resulted in costs that are not in line with interim rates, then contractors may request increases or decreases that better align rates with cost.

Rate adjustment requests should be based on prior fiscal year’s cost report information and supporting documentation and the first three to six months of the current fiscal year by creating a mock cost report including your agency’s financial statements.

New Costs

Rate adjustment requests should be based on prior fiscal year’s cost report information and supporting documentation and the first three to six months of the current fiscal year by creating a mock cost report including your agency’s financial statements.

Finance offers a “MH Mode 15 Rate Change Mod” template for use in the request of a modification to the interim rates for mode 15 services. For mode 05 and mode 10 rate change, requests for the “Program Modification” template can be used. The template’s tab labeled “Submission Requirements” outlines the requirements for submission. Please submit program changes to Mode 15 specialty mental health services using the MH Program Modification template spreadsheet. Rate Change requests will be accepted between July and January of the current fiscal year. All rate changes are retro-active to the beginning of the current fiscal year.
Please request the current template(s) from your finance point of contact.

Finance Point of Contact

Please work with your program monitor prior to contacting your finance representative. Please cc the finance representative when submitting Budget Modifications to [email protected] . Below is the list of finance staff:

Heather Bilich
Division: 24 Hr. Care, IMD
[email protected]

Hoang Hua
Division: SHS
[email protected]

Russ Lopez
Division: CJS
[email protected]

Elaine Navarra
Division: CYF
[email protected]

Grant Stewart
Division: AOA
[email protected]

Dan Xu
Division: County Reports
[email protected]

Shari Zheng
Division: SUTS
[email protected]