On June 1, 2022, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) published the second annual Preventive Services Report (PSR) and its Executive Summary on the DHCS website. The PSR describes how Medi-Cal managed care plans (MCPs) deliver preventive health services to children. Based on data from 2020, the PSR shows that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) likely had a significant impact on whether individuals visited health provider locations to receive care, treatment, or screenings. In many cases, the overall decline in the number of children receiving these services from the previous year suggested that the PHE likely negatively impacted performance. It is also notable that communities of color experienced greater declines in health outcomes than other groups, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the PHE on these populations.
The PSR findings will assist DHCS and MCPs in identifying underutilization and implementing targeted improvement strategies that can drive positive change and ensure children receive adequate access to care.
For more information about the PSR and other external quality reviews and reports, visit the Medi-Cal Managed Care Quality Improvement Reports webpage.