Come join us for an event celebrating nutrition and healthy living! CalOptima is launching a series of CalFresh Enrollment Events and Resource Fairs with the first event scheduled for Friday, May 6 from 3–7 p.m. at the Delhi Center, located at 505 E. Central Avenue in Santa Ana.

CalOptima is offering on-site CalFresh enrollment, food distribution, diaper distribution (while supplies last), community resources and activities for the whole family, including music, face painting, balloons and more. The event flyer is available in English/Spanish and English/Vietnamese.

The virtual InfoSeries on Medi-Cal Expansion will take place on Thursday, May 12 from 1–2:30 p.m. The event is designed to provide an overview of the Medi-Cal expansion for adults age 50+ regardless of immigration status and the Postpartum Care Extension. The event will also share community efforts taking place to educate and enroll this newly eligible population, discuss how CalOptima is preparing for an increase in membership and how the Bright Steps program aligns with the Postpartum Care Extension. Click here to register for the event.

CalOptima invites you to attend a three-part virtual resource fair throughout the month of June focusing on “Resources to Address Food Insecurity in Orange County”. Each session will highlight one of the following categories: Food resources for Families and Children, Food Resources for Older Adults and Food Distribution in the Community (food banks that collaborate with non-profit agencies to provide food in the community).

The purpose of the fair is to inform and educate health care partners, community stakeholders and CalOptima employees about services and programs available to better serve our members experiencing food insecurity. Registration is required for each session. Click here for the event flyer.

In interviews with California Healthline and PopHealth Podcast, CalOptima CEO Michael Hunn shared changes to Medi-Cal and how the agency is navigating CalAIM to support members.

Hunn explained that CalOptima has started offering the CalAIM Community Supports of housing deposits, housing navigation and recuperative care. He also shared there are an estimated 10,000 individuals who could benefit from the Enhanced Care Management capabilities through CalAIM. Over the past 90 days since the initiative went into effect, CalOptima has already engaged over 2,500 individuals in this population.

The federal Uninsured Program has stopped accepting COVID-19-related claims for those without health insurance. Uninsured individuals are no longer guaranteed access to no cost COVID-19 testing, treatments and shots.

CalOptima encourages uninsured community members to keep their access to these important health care services by checking if they are eligible for CalOptima Medi-Cal. Call the County of Orange Social Services Agency at 1-800-281-9799 or visit one of their office locations to check Medi-Cal eligibility.

CalOptima partners with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for regular contributions to the Community Announcements. The contributions are COVID-19 hot topics from UCI infectious disease experts.

This week’s articles address rising COVID-19 cases and benefits of the spring booster. Click here to read about these hot topics.

As of May 1, Medi-Cal, California’s health coverage program for low-income individuals and families, extended eligibility for full coverage to more than 185,000 individuals who are 50 years of age or older, regardless of immigration status. The expansion population includes individuals 50 years of age or older who are eligible for Medi-Cal, who do not have satisfactory immigration status or are unable to establish satisfactory immigration status for full-scope Medi-Cal, and are not yet enrolled in Medi-Cal. It also includes individuals 50 years of age or older who are currently enrolled in restricted scope Medi-Cal. To learn more about the Medi-Cal expansion, click here.

As part of California’s ongoing mental health movement, the Take Action for Mental Health campaign is designed to help individuals Check In, Learn More and Get Support  for mental health for you or someone you care about. For a list of mental health related events, click here.

OC Public Libraries is partnering with California State Parks and the California State Library to offer free State Parks vehicle day-use passes, available for circulation at all branches of public libraries in California. For more information about pass validity and terms, click here.

The WIC benefit bump extension allows WIC participants to receive the increased cash value benefit for fruit and vegetables through September 30, 2022. The WIC benefit bump has resulted in more than triple the amount of fruit and vegetable purchases, a greater variety of produce redeemed by WIC families and increased fruit and vegetable consumption for young children. Click here for more information.

CalOptima Customer Service remains ready to respond to member needs as we adhere to guidelines to reduce the possibility of COVID-19 transmission. Our building is closed to visitors. Members can call Customer Service from the safety of their home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have staff who speak their language. Members can also visit www.caloptima.org and access their member portal.