HHS AGREES TO APPROVE WAIVER EXTENSION
TO STRENGTHEN HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN LA COUNTY

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced that the administration and California officials have agreed to the terms and conditions for an extension of a Medicaid waiver that Los Angeles County is using to restructure its health care system. These terms and conditions make final the operational details for the agreement in principle reached between the parties last June.

This agreement will extend by five years a demonstration project granted to California in 1996. It is designed to transform the county's large, hospital-based public medical care system into an integrated system that coordinates services and relies more on primary and outpatient care.

Under the demonstration, and with technical assistance from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the county has made progress in achieving this transformation. As part of the agreement for the extension, state and county officials have committed to providing outpatient visits furnished through the county health system to at least 3 million a year.

This waiver agreement will be budget neutral over the five-year phase-out of the extension.

"This extension will allow Los Angeles County to continue its restructuring and ensure that uninterrupted, high quality health care is available for the people of the county who rely on Medicaid and the public health system," said Robert Berenson, M.D., HCFA's acting deputy administrator.

Berenson added that HCFA will also provide continuing technical assistance to the state and the county as they continue to implement their restructuring plan.

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