To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract #77-383-1 with Serene Health IPA
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of County Contract #77-383-1 with Serene Health IPA, a corporation, in an amount not to exceed $800,000, to provide telehealth Behavioral Health Treatment (BHT) including Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation (CDE) services for Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) members and County recipients for the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract will result in contractual service expenditures of up to $800,000 over a two-year period and will be funded 100% by CCHP Enterprise Fund II revenues.
BACKGROUND:
CCHP has an obligation to provide certain specialized behavioral health services for its members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the County. Telehealth behavioral health services include but are not limited to electronic video and communication technologies to facilitate outpatient therapy services including diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, and care management. BHT including ABA, and CDE services include but are not limited to thorough reviews and assessments of an individual’s development and behavior using national, evidence-based practice standards, and treatment plans to improve the functioning of CCHP members with pervasive development disorder or autism. This Contractor has been a part of the CCHP Provider Network providing these services and fostering a deep understanding of the CCHP organizations mission, values, and long-term objectives since January 1, 2023.
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 currently cooperates with and participates 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 600.3 solicitation requirements by the Public Works Department’s Purchasing Division.
On January 10, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #77-383 with Serene Health IPA, in an amount not to exceed $600,000, for the provision of telehealth BHT including ABA, and CDE services for CCHP members and County recipients for the period January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025.
Approval of Contract #77-383-1, will allow the Contractor to continue to provide telehealth behavioral health, BHT including ABA and CDE services for CCHP members and County recipients through December 31, 2027.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract is not approved, certain specialized behavioral health services for CCHP members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the County will not be provided by this Contractor and may delay services to CCHP members.