To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract Amendment #77-180-5 with Best Steps Psychology, P.C.
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract Amendment #77-180-5 with Best Steps Psychology, P.C., a professional corporation, effective January 1, 2027, to amend Contract #77-180-4, to increase the payment limit by $100,000, from $240,000 to an amount not to exceed $340,000, to provide additional Behavioral Health Treatment (BHT) including Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation (CDE) services, and to include the Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) obligations and requirements, authorizing the Contractor to provide specialized care to beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal and to offer care coordination and wrap around services, with no change in the term ending October 31, 2028.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract Amendment will result in additional annual expenditures of up to $100,000 and will be funded 100% by Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) Enterprise Fund II. (No rate increase)
BACKGROUND:
CCHP has an obligation to provide certain specialized BHT including CDE services for its members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the County. As part of the CCHP Provider Network, this Contractor has delivered these services since November 2018, fostering a strong understanding of CCHP’s mission, values, and long‑term objectives.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: California Government Code §§ 26227 and 31000; Health and Safety Code § 1451. Health Services Personnel approved this Contract to ensure no conflicts with labor relations. Contractor will cooperate with and participate in CCHP’s Quality Management Program which consists of quality improvement activities to improve the quality of care and services and member experience. Cooperation includes collection and evaluation of performance measurement data and participation in the organization’s clinical and service measure Quality Improvement Programs. These contracted services were determined to be exempt from Administrative Bulletin 600.4 solicitation requirements by the Public Works Department’s Purchasing Division.
In January 2022, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) implemented its California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative, part of which requires all Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans to have a D-SNP line of business as of January 1, 2026, unless determined otherwise by the DHCS exemption process. D-SNPs are Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that provide specialized care to beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal and offer care coordination and wrap-around services. To comply with the DHCS mandate to implement a D-SNP line of business, CCHP is required to achieve network adequacy of its provider network.
On October 10, 2026, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #77-180-4 with Best Steps Psychology, P.C., in an amount not to exceed $240,000, for the provision of BHT including CDE services for CCHP members, for the period November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2028.
Approval of Contract Amendment #77-180-5 will allow the Contractor to provide additional BHT including CDE services for CCHP members who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal and will support CCHP’s compliance with DHCS mandates and CMS network adequacy standards through October 31, 2028.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract Amendment is not approved, CCHP not be compliant with DHCS and beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal will not receive additional services.