To: Board of Supervisors
From: Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract #77-420-1 with Bright Heart Health Medical Group, A Medical Corporation
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract #77-420-1 with Bright Heart Health Medical Group, A Medical Corporation, in an amount not to exceed $300,000, to provide behavioral telehealth services for Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) members and county recipients for the period from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this contract will result in annual contractual service expenditures of up to $300,000 over a two-year period and will be funded 100% by CCHP Enterprise Fund II revenues. (Rate increase)
BACKGROUND:
CCHP has an obligation to provide certain specialized behavioral health services including telehealth for its members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the county. Services for behavioral telehealth include electronic video and communication technologies to facilitate outpatient therapy services including diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, and care management services for CCHP members. This contractor has been part of the CCHP Provider Network providing behavioral telehealth services and fostering a deep understanding of the CCHP organizations mission, values, and long-term objectives since January 1, 2022.
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 in November 2023. Behavioral Health Therapy (BHT) services are mandated by State and Federal regulations and Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has added BHT services to the list of medically necessary outpatient mental health services as covered benefit under the DHCS All Plan Letter (APL) 13-021. This contractor currently cooperates with and participates in CCHP’s Quality Management Program which consists of quality improvement activities to improve the quality of care, 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. The nature of the behavioral telehealth services needed is complex and requires seamless coordination, integration and collaboration with existing programs and systems. There are a total of 75 BHT service providers in CCHP’s service area. CCHP is currently contracted with 65 BHT service providers. This contract renewal will maintain comprehensive area coverage for the entire CCHP membership and meet the Knox-Keene Act, time and distance mandate required by the State of California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) services. This contractor has been approved by the Public Works Department’s Purchasing Division on November 6, 2023.
On February 8, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #77-420 with Bright Heart Health Medical Group, A Medical Corporation, in an amount not to exceed $600,000, for the provision of behavioral telehealth services to CCHP members and County recipients, for the period January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.
Approval of Contract #77-420-1 will allow the contractor to continue to provide behavioral telehealth services to CCHP members and County recipients through December 31, 2026.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this contract is not approved, certain specialized behavioral telehealth services for CCHP members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contract with the county will not be provided.