Contains dated agency guidance. Numbered notices are reissued. Check the notice number and date before relying on it.

Moving within California does not end your Medi-Cal. It moves it — and the rules are written so that nothing goes dark in the gap. Whether your therapist comes with you is a separate question with a better answer than most people are given.

The short answer: your coverage must not lapse. "Counties must ensure all Medi-Cal cases remain active throughout the ICT period without an interruption in benefits," and the county you are leaving "may only discontinue Medi-Cal benefits during the ICT once the Sending County confirms a new benefit effective date with the Receiving County."¹ You must report the move within 10 days;² the statute lets you tell either county.⁵ For a therapist you already see through the county mental health plan, there is a named right: a state notice lists "[t]ransitioning from one county MHP to another county MHP due to a change in the beneficiary's county of residence" among the situations where "[b]eneficiaries with pre-existing provider relationships who make a continuity of care request to the county MHP must be given the option to continue treatment for up to 12 months with an out-of-network Medi-Cal provider."⁴ You have to ask. It is not automatic, and you can ask "in person, in writing, or via telephone and shall not be required to submit an electronic or written request."⁴

What actually happens to your case

The mechanism has a name — intercounty transfer, usually ICT — and a statute. "Within seven business days of notice of a new residence, the notified county shall initiate an intercounty transfer for all benefits under this division that the recipient is receiving," and benefits "shall be transferred no later than the first day of the next available benefit month following 30 days after a county was notified pursuant to this section."⁵

The regulation fills in who does what. The county you are leaving must tell you in writing of "his/her responsibility to apply for a redetermination of eligibility in the new county of residence" and, "within 7 calendar days of the date the county department learns of the change in county of responsibility," send the transfer paperwork to the new county.⁶ The new county must return the notification form "within 30 days of receipt."⁶ And if it does not, the old county "shall contact the new county to assure that continuous Medi-Cal coverage will be provided to the extent that eligibility exists."⁶

Note what "apply for a redetermination" means here, because it sounds heavier than it is. The regulation defines it as "any clear expression to the county department, whether verbal or written, that the beneficiary is living in the county and wishes to continue receiving Medi-Cal."² A phone call counts. And the state has said so in terms: "Counties cannot require the beneficiary to reapply for Medi-Cal benefits in the Receiving County."⁷

The statute also protects you from the most unfair outcome of a late report: failure to report a move "in itself shall not constitute a basis for an overpayment."⁵

The therapist question, split three ways

Who provides your therapy on Medi-Cal decides which rule you use, and most people do not know which bucket they are in.

If you see a therapist through the county mental health plan — specialty mental health services — this is the clearest case, and the source is squarely on point. MHSUDS Information Notice 18-059 lists the situations covered by county continuity of care, and one of them is "[t]ransitioning from one county MHP to another county MHP due to a change in the beneficiary's county of residence."⁴ Where that applies, beneficiaries "who make a continuity of care request to the county MHP must be given the option to continue treatment for up to 12 months with an out-of-network Medi-Cal provider or a terminated network provider."⁴

Three conditions attach. You must have an existing relationship with the provider, and the notice gives movers their own measuring point for that: a relationship "may be established if the beneficiary has seen the out-of-network provider at least once during the 12-months prior to" — among other events — "[t]he beneficiary establishing residence in the county."⁴ So the twelve months run back from your move. The provider must be "willing to accept the higher of the MHPs provider contract rates or Medi-Cal FFS rates."⁴ And the plan must not have "identified, verified, and documented disqualifying quality of care issues to the extent that the provider would not be eligible to provide services to any other beneficiaries of the MHP."⁴

And the deadlines are short: the request must be decided within "[t]hirty calendar days from the date the MHP received the request; Fifteen calendar days if the beneficiary's condition requires more immediate attention…Three calendar days if there is a risk of harm."⁴

If you see a therapist through your Medi-Cal managed care plan — non-specialty mental health services, the more common route for mild-to-moderate conditions — the picture is less settled and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The current continuity-of-care All Plan Letter gives members "up to 12 months of Continuity of Care with a Provider if a verifiable pre-existing relationship exists with that Provider," on conditions that the provider accept the plan's rates, meet its professional standards with no disqualifying quality-of-care issue, and be a State Plan approved provider.⁸ Requests must be accepted by telephone — plans "must not require the requester to complete and submit a paper or online form if the requester prefers to make the request by telephone" — and must be completed within 30 calendar days for non-urgent requests, 15 where the condition needs more immediate attention, and no longer than three calendar days for urgent ones.⁸

Two catches, and the page would be dishonest to leave either out. First, the letter's protection reaches primary care providers, specialists and a named list of ancillary providers, and for mental health DHCS says "the Continuity of Care requirement only applies to psychiatrists and/or mental health Provider types that are permitted" under the State Plan⁸ — so ask the plan in writing whether your therapist's licence type is on it. Second, the letter's stated purpose is guidance for beneficiaries "who are mandatorily transitioning from Medi-Cal Fee-For-Service (FFS) to enroll as Members in Medi-Cal managed care."⁸ The one sentence it has on changing plans is narrow: "If a Member changes MCPs by choice following the initial enrollment in an MCP or if a Member loses and then later regains MCP eligibility during the 12-month Continuity of Care period, the 12-month Continuity of Care period for a pre-existing Provider may start over one time."⁸ A county move is not a change by choice, so that sentence neither grants nor denies you the right. Ask anyway, by telephone, and ask the plan to put its answer in writing. An earlier version of the same letter covered members transitioning into a new plan in terms, so the question is worth pressing rather than conceding.

There is also a statute, with its own limits. Health & Safety Code §1373.96 requires a plan, "at the request of an enrollee," to "provide for the completion of covered services … by a terminated provider or by a nonparticipating provider," for listed conditions including a serious chronic condition, capped at "12 months from the contract termination date or 12 months from the effective date of coverage for a newly covered enrollee."⁹ Two carve-outs matter. The section "does not apply to a newly covered enrollee who is offered an out-of-network option or to a newly covered enrollee who had the option to continue with their previous health plan or provider and instead voluntarily chose to change health plans."⁹ A county mover made no such choice — but a plan that offers you an out-of-network option may say the section is spent. The conditions, and how to ask →

Your plan changes, and there is a gap to manage

Medi-Cal managed care plans are county-specific, so a move means a new plan. The statute anticipates the awkward month in between.

If you are still enrolled in the old county's plan, you keep "continued access to emergency services and any other coverage the managed care health plan authorizes out-of-network until the time that the intercounty transfer process pursuant to subdivision (a) is complete and the beneficiary is disenrolled from the managed care health plan."⁵ For anything not an emergency, there is an expedited exit: if you need "nonemergent care that same month in the new county, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman shall, upon request by the beneficiary or either county, disenroll the beneficiary as an expedited disenrollment from his or her managed care health plan."⁵ The timelines are unusually tight — "County-initiated disenrollment using an online form shall be processed no later than three business days after the request is made," and "[b]eneficiary-initiated disenrollment by telephone shall be effective no later than two business days after the request is made when the request is made before 5 p.m."⁵

Once disenrolled that way, you are "entitled to the full scope of benefits for which he or she is entitled to in the new county through the fee-for-service delivery system until he or she is enrolled in a managed care health plan in the new county."⁵ If your new county runs a county organized health system, you are enrolled in it "on the first day of the following month once the new county of residence is reflected in the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System"⁵ — which is why the timing of that system update, below, matters. Elsewhere, "the usual health plan choice process shall apply."⁵

You are entitled to written notice of the change: "[w]henever the department or the county welfare department processes a change in a public assistance recipient's or Medi-Cal beneficiary's residence or aid code that will result in the recipient's or beneficiary's disenrollment from the managed health care or dental plan in which he or she is currently enrolled, a written notice shall be given to the recipient or beneficiary."¹⁰

One warning from the state's own guidance, because it explains a failure people experience and cannot name: when the new address is updated in the eligibility system before the responsible county changes, "a '59 hold' could be placed on the beneficiary's MCHP enrollment, which would place the beneficiary temporarily in Fee-For-Service."⁷ If your plan card suddenly does not work and nobody can say why, this is a thing to ask about by name.

What to do, in order

  1. Report the move within 10 days. The regulation requires you to report "[c]hange of address" to the county "within 10 calendar days following the date the change occurred," and directs a change of county to "the county department which initially established Medi-Cal eligibility."² The statute is more forgiving about which office: it lets you "notify either the county from which he or she moves or the county to which he or she moves."⁵ Routes are BenefitsCal online or your county office; the state's own page says "[l]et us know within 10 days if something in your life changes, like: Address."³
  2. Say you want to keep your therapist, and say it early. For county specialty mental health, request continuity of care from the new county's mental health plan — in person, in writing or by phone.⁴ For managed care, call the new plan and make the request by telephone; they may not force you onto a form.⁸
  3. If you need a non-emergency appointment this month, call the Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman on 1-888-452-8609 and ask for expedited disenrollment from the old county's plan.⁵ ¹
  4. Choose your new plan through Health Care Options, 1-800-430-4263, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.¹
  5. If two counties argue about which is responsible, the argument is not yours to lose: "[t]he MHP of the beneficiary…shall be responsible for providing or authorizing and paying for the service until the dispute is resolved," and "[a] dispute regarding the MHP of the beneficiary shall not delay medically necessary services to beneficiaries."¹¹

A worked example

You have been seeing an LCSW through your county's mental health plan for eight months. You move from one California county to another in March.

You call the new county on the 20th, within the 10 days.² The new county cannot make you reapply from scratch,⁷ and your case must stay active while the transfer runs.¹

In the same call you say: I am asking for continuity of care. I have a pre-existing relationship with my therapist — I have seen her within the twelve months before I established residence here — and I want to keep seeing her under the twelve-month continuity of care policy in MHSUDS Information Notice 18-059. That notice covers your exact situation by name, and it measures the twelve months from your move.⁴ The county must decide within 30 days, sooner if your condition needs it, and within three days if there is a risk of harm.⁴

Your therapist then has to agree to the new county's rates or Medi-Cal fee-for-service rates.⁴ That is the condition most likely to end it, and it is worth asking her directly before you build a plan around the answer.

Meanwhile you need an appointment in April and the old county's plan will not authorise it. You call the Ombudsman before 5 p.m., ask for expedited disenrollment, and it is effective within two business days of the call.⁵

What this page will not tell you

Whether the 10-business-day appointment standard "restarts" when you change plans. It is a common claim and we could not source it. The regulation ties the standard to the request, not to enrolment: a non-urgent appointment with a non-physician mental health provider must come "within ten business days of the request for appointment,"¹² and the Medi-Cal equivalent is measured "based on when the Member makes the request for appointment."¹³ The accurate statement is narrower than "it restarts": every request you make to the new plan is measured from the day you make it. The 10-business-day rule →

And one thing that sounds relevant and is not. "Presumptive transfer" moves responsibility for specialty mental health "from the county of original jurisdiction to the county in which the foster child resides," and applies only to children and youth in foster care placed outside their county by a child welfare agency or probation department.¹⁴ It is not a rule for an adult or a family who moves house, and it should not be quoted at a county as though it were.

Q&A

Q: Will there be a month with no coverage? A: There should not be. The state's instruction is flat: "Counties must ensure all Medi-Cal cases remain active throughout the ICT period without an interruption in benefits," and the old county "may only discontinue Medi-Cal benefits during the ICT once the Sending County confirms a new benefit effective date with the Receiving County."¹ If you are told otherwise, ask the county to point to the authority for it.

Q: I reported the move late. Am I in trouble? A: The statute says failure to report a move "in itself shall not constitute a basis for an overpayment."⁵ Report it now.

Q: How long does the old county stay responsible? A: The regulation sets discontinuance at "the last day of the month in which the 30th day after notification to the new county of the change in county of responsibility occurs" — subject to two exceptions, for a new-county ineligibility determination and for continuing-eligibility categories — with the new county's eligibility beginning "the first day of the month following the month in which the initiating county department discontinues eligibility."¹⁵ Counties may agree a different date between themselves.¹⁵

Q: My therapist is out of network in the new county. Does that end it? A: That is exactly the situation continuity of care exists for — the county notice speaks of continuing "with an out-of-network Medi-Cal provider."⁴ The question is not network status; it is whether your provider will accept the rate.

Q: Can I keep the old county's plan if I liked it better? A: No. Plans are county-specific, and the statute contemplates disenrolment and re-enrolment on a move.⁵ What travels is the provider relationship, if you ask for it.

Q: Does any of this apply if I move out of California? A: No. This page is about moving between California counties. Leaving the state ends Medi-Cal eligibility and starts a different process in the new state.

If therapy stops while this is sorted out: Sliding-scale therapy in California → · Therapy anywhere in California by telehealth →

Our therapist directory: See its current status →

In crisis? Call or text 988 — free, 24/7.

Sources

  1. California Department of Health Care Services, All County Welfare Directors Letter 18-02E, "Senate Bill 1339 Intercounty Transfer Process," dated 23 February 2021 — "Counties must ensure all Medi-Cal cases remain active throughout the ICT period without an interruption in benefits"; "The Sending County may only discontinue Medi-Cal benefits during the ICT once the Sending County confirms a new benefit effective date with the Receiving County"; "SB 1339 requires that within seven business days of notice of a new residence, the notified county shall initiate an ICT"; "The ICT must be completed no later than the first day of the next available benefit month following the 30 days after the beneficiary's initial notification to either the Sending County or Receiving County of the change in residence county"; "If a beneficiary moves to a county without a COHS, the usual health plan choice process shall apply"; and the contacts "Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman at 1-888-452-8609" and "Health Care Options (HCO) at 1-800-430-4263" — dhcs.ca.gov. The first two sentences were independently re-fetched and confirmed word for word on 14 September 2026.
  2. 22 Cal. Code Regs. §50185 — (a)(4) the beneficiary shall "Report the following facts to the county department that may affect the determination of eligibility and share of cost within 10 calendar days following the date the change occurred: (A) Change of address. (B) Change in property or income. (C) Change in family composition. (D) Change in other health care coverage."; (a)(11) "Promptly notify the county department which initially established Medi-Cal eligibility of any changes in residence from one county to another within the state and apply for a redetermination of eligibility within the new county of residence. 'Apply for a redetermination of eligibility,' as used in this section, is defined as any clear expression to the county department, whether verbal or written, that the beneficiary is living in the county and wishes to continue receiving Medi-Cal." — law.cornell.edu.
  3. California Department of Health Care Services, Update Your Information — "Let us know within 10 days if something in your life changes, like: Address," with routes given as BenefitsCal online and "Call or visit your county office" — dhcs.ca.gov, read 14 September 2026. The page gives no general reporting phone number or mailing address.
  4. California Department of Health Care Services, MHSUDS Information Notice No. 18-059, "Federal Continuity of Care Requirements for Mental Health Plans," 17 December 2018 — the POLICY list of transitions covered, including "Transitioning from one county MHP to another county MHP due to a change in the beneficiary's county of residence;"; "Beneficiaries with pre-existing provider relationships who make a continuity of care request to the county MHP must be given the option to continue treatment for up to 12 months with an out-of-network Medi-Cal provider or a terminated network provider (i.e., an employee of the MHP or a contracted organizational provider, provider group, or individual practitioner)."; the conditions "The provider is willing to accept the higher of the MHPs provider contract rates or Medi-Cal FFS rates" and "The MHP has not identified, verified, and documented disqualifying quality of care issues to the extent that the provider would not be eligible to provide services to any other beneficiaries of the MHP"; under "Validating Pre-existing Provider Relationships," "An existing relationship with a provider may be established if the beneficiary has seen the out-of-network provider at least once during the 12-months prior to the following: The beneficiary establishing residence in the county; Upon referral by another MHP or MCP; and/or, The MHP making a determin[ation that] the beneficiary meets medical necessity criteria for SMHS"; the request route, "A beneficiary, the beneficiary's authorized representatives, or the beneficiary's provider may make a direct request to an MHP for continuity of care. Beneficiaries may request continuity of care in person, in writing, or via telephone and shall not be required to submit an electronic or written request"; and the timelines, "Thirty calendar days from the date the MHP received the request; Fifteen calendar days if the beneficiary's condition requires more immediate attention…Three calendar days if there is a risk of harm" — dhcs.ca.gov. The county-of-residence bullet and the 12-month sentence were independently re-fetched and confirmed word for word on 14 September 2026. A check of the DHCS Behavioral Health Information Notice library on 14 September 2026 found no later notice superseding or rescinding this one.
  5. Cal. Welfare & Institutions Code §10003 — (a) the recipient shall "notify either the county from which he or she moves or the county to which he or she moves"; "Within seven business days of notice of a new residence, the notified county shall initiate an intercounty transfer for all benefits under this division that the recipient is receiving," and benefits "shall be transferred no later than the first day of the next available benefit month following 30 days after a county was notified pursuant to this section"; (b) "there is no interruption in benefits"; (e)(1) "If the beneficiary moves to another county and is still enrolled in a managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved, the beneficiary shall have continued access to emergency services and any other coverage the managed care health plan authorizes out-of-network until the time that the intercounty transfer process pursuant to subdivision (a) is complete and the beneficiary is disenrolled from the managed care health plan"; (e)(2) "If the beneficiary moves to another county and is still enrolled in a managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved and needs nonemergent care that same month in the new county, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman shall, upon request by the beneficiary or either county, disenroll the beneficiary as an expedited disenrollment from his or her managed care health plan," with "County-initiated disenrollment using an online form shall be processed no later than three business days after the request is made" and "Beneficiary-initiated disenrollment by telephone shall be effective no later than two business days after the request is made when the request is made before 5 p.m."; (e)(3) "A beneficiary who is disenrolled from the managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be entitled to the full scope of benefits for which he or she is entitled to in the new county through the fee-for-service delivery system until he or she is enrolled in a managed care health plan in the new county"; (e)(4) "If the beneficiary moves to a county that provides Medi-Cal services through a county organized health system, the beneficiary shall be enrolled in that county organized health system plan on the first day of the following month once the new county of residence is reflected in the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System. If a beneficiary moves to a county without a county organized health system, the usual health plan choice process shall apply"; and (f), failure to report "in itself shall not constitute a basis for an overpayment" — california.public.law, cross-checked at law.justia.com. Added by SB 1339, Stats. 2016, Ch. 801.
  6. 22 Cal. Code Regs. §50136 — (a) "An intercounty transfer shall be initiated if persons or families receiving Medi-Cal-only become the responsibility of a new county."; (a)(1) the initiating county "shall inform the beneficiary in writing of his/her responsibility to apply for a redetermination of eligibility in the new county of residence and, within 7 calendar days of the date the county department learns of the change in county of responsibility, send the following to the county department in the new county of responsibility…"; (a)(3)(B) the new county shall "Return to the initiating county department one copy of the Notification of Transfer form, Form ABCDM 215, within 30 days of receipt of the form."; (a)(4) "If the Notification of Transfer form has not been returned within 30 days, the initiating county shall contact the new county to assure that continuous Medi-Cal coverage will be provided to the extent that eligibility exists." — law.cornell.edu. Subparagraph (a)(3)(A) renders on that source with an apparently corrupted internal cross-reference and is not relied on here.
  7. California Department of Health Care Services, All County Welfare Directors Letter 16-10, "Clarification of the Intercounty Transfer Process," 21 April 2016 — "The Sending County is allowed seven calendar days to initiate an eICT to the Receiving County and the Receiving County is required to complete and process the eICT within 30 calendar days"; "Counties cannot require the beneficiary to reapply for Medi-Cal benefits in the Receiving County"; "a beneficiary is required to report a permanent change in county address or a change for an indefinite period within ten days from the change in residence"; and "when the new county address is updated in MEDS as the residence address, even if the responsible county has not yet changed, a '59 hold' could be placed on the beneficiary's MCHP enrollment, which would place the beneficiary temporarily in Fee-For-Service" — dhcs.ca.gov.
  8. California Department of Health Care Services, All Plan Letter 23-022, "Continuity of Care for Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Who Newly Enroll in Medi-Cal Managed Care from Medi-Cal Fee-For-Service, On or After January 1, 2023," 15 August 2023 (supersedes APL 22-032) — "Members may request up to 12 months of Continuity of Care with a Provider if a verifiable pre-existing relationship exists with that Provider"; the conditions "The Provider is willing to accept the MCP's contract rates or Medi-Cal FFS rates," "The Provider meets the MCP's applicable professional standards and has no disqualifying quality of care issues," and "The Provider is a California State Plan approved Provider"; "MCPs must accept Continuity of Care requests from the Member, authorized representative, or Provider over the telephone, according to the requester's preference, and must not require the requester to complete and submit a paper or online form if the requester prefers to make the request by telephone"; the deadlines "30 calendar days for non-urgent requests; 15 calendar days if the Member's medical condition requires more immediate attention…or As soon as possible, but no longer than three calendar days for urgent requests"; the pre-existing-relationship definition keyed to "the 12 months prior to the date of their initial enrollment in the MCP" and limited to "an OON Primary Care Provider; Specialist; or select ancillary Provider including physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, Behavioral Health Treatment (BHT), and speech therapy Provider," with "Continuity of Care protections do not extend to all other ancillary Providers" and, for mental health, "the Continuity of Care requirement only applies to psychiatrists and/or mental health Provider types that are permitted" under the State Plan; the restart sentence, "If a Member changes MCPs by choice following the initial enrollment in an MCP or if a Member loses and then later regains MCP eligibility during the 12-month Continuity of Care period, the 12-month Continuity of Care period for a pre-existing Provider may start over one time"; and the scope sentence, "The purpose of this All Plan Letter (APL) is to provide Medi-Cal managed care health plans (MCPs) with guidance on Continuity of Care for beneficiaries who are mandatorily transitioning from Medi-Cal Fee-For-Service (FFS) to enroll as Members in Medi-Cal managed care." — dhcs.ca.gov. At verification this was the most recent continuity-of-care All Plan Letter on the DHCS index. It does not name a change in county of residence among the qualifying situations, and its one sentence on changing plans is keyed to a change "by choice"; whether DHCS treats a mover's new plan enrolment as an "initial enrollment in the MCP" for these purposes is not resolved by the text, and this page presents it as unsettled rather than as a right. The predecessor, APL 22-032, carried the broader title "…and for Medi-Cal Members Who Transition Into a New Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Plan on or After January 1, 2023."
  9. Cal. Health & Safety Code §1373.96 — "A health care service plan shall, at the request of an enrollee, provide for the completion of covered services as set forth in this section by a terminated provider or by a nonparticipating provider"; the serious-chronic-condition limit, "12 months from the contract termination date or 12 months from the effective date of coverage for a newly covered enrollee"; (d)(2) "The services rendered pursuant to this section shall be compensated at rates and methods of payment similar to those used by the plan or the provider group for currently contracting providers providing similar services who are not capitated and who are practicing in the same or a similar geographic area as the terminated provider"; and (j) "This section does not apply to a newly covered enrollee who is offered an out-of-network option or to a newly covered enrollee who had the option to continue with their previous health plan or provider and instead voluntarily chose to change health plans." — california.public.law.
  10. Cal. Welfare & Institutions Code §14016.5 — (n)(2) "Whenever the department or the county welfare department processes a change in a public assistance recipient's or Medi-Cal beneficiary's residence or aid code that will result in the recipient's or beneficiary's disenrollment from the managed health care or dental plan in which he or she is currently enrolled, a written notice shall be given to the recipient or beneficiary."; (b)(3) "Each beneficiary or eligible applicant shall be informed that he or she may choose to continue an established patient-provider relationship in a managed care option, if his or her treating provider is a primary care provider or clinic contracting with any of the prepaid managed health care plans, pilot projects, or fee-for-service case management provider options available, has available capacity, and agrees to continue to treat that beneficiary or applicant." — california.public.law. Welfare & Institutions Code §14182 was checked and does not address a managed care enrollee moving between counties.
  11. California Department of Health Care Services, Behavioral Health Information Notice 21-072, "County of Responsibility for Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) and Arbitration Between Mental Health Plans (MHPs)," 9 December 2021 — "The County of Responsibility listed in MEDS…determines which county's MHP is responsible for providing or arranging SMHS"; "When a Medi-Cal beneficiary permanently moves from one county to another, the beneficiary is responsible for promptly notifying the county from which they move or the county to which they move of the change in residence"; "The MHP of the beneficiary…shall be responsible for providing or authorizing and paying for the service until the dispute is resolved"; "A dispute regarding the MHP of the beneficiary shall not delay medically necessary services to beneficiaries." — dhcs.ca.gov.
  12. 28 Cal. Code Regs. §1300.67.2.2 — (c)(5)(E) "Non-urgent appointments with a non-physician mental health care provider or substance use disorder provider: within ten business days of the request for appointment, except as provided in subsection (c)(5)(H) and in subsection (c)(5)(I) of this Rule"; (b)(2) appointment waiting time defined as "the time from the initial request to the plan or a provider for covered health care services by an enrollee, an enrollee's representative or the enrollee's treating provider to the earliest date offered for the appointment for services." — law.cornell.edu. The rule ties the standard to the date of the request, not to enrolment, and says nothing about a plan change.
  13. California Department of Health Care Services, All Plan Letter 25-006 (Revised), "Timely Access Requirements," 18 November 2025 — the standard for a non-physician mental health or substance use disorder provider, non-urgent appointment, is 10 business days, measured "based on when the Member makes the request for appointment" — dhcs.ca.gov. The letter contains no discussion of newly enrolled members, transitions between plans, or whether the measurement clock resets on a plan change.
  14. Cal. Welfare & Institutions Code §14717.1(c) — presumptive transfer means that "responsibility for providing or arranging for specialty mental health services shall promptly transfer from the county of original jurisdiction to the county in which the foster child resides," under conditions including that "[a] foster child is placed in a county other than the county of original jurisdiction on or after July 1, 2017"; (b)(2)(B) policy guidance shall ensure that "Presumptive transfer does not disrupt the continuity of care" — california.public.law. By subdivision (a)(1) the section applies to children and youth in foster care placed outside the county of original jurisdiction; it does not apply to an adult or family who moves voluntarily.
  15. 22 Cal. Code Regs. §50137 — (a) "In a change in county of responsibility, the effective date of discontinuance as determined by the initiating county department shall be the last day of the month in which the 30th day after notification to the new county of the change in county of responsibility occurs except that:" — followed by two exceptions, for a determination of ineligibility in the new county and for continuing-eligibility categories; (b) "If the county department in the new county of responsibility determined that a person or family is eligible for Medi-Cal, the effective date of eligibility shall be the first day of the month following the month in which the initiating county department discontinues eligibility."; (c) "Counties involved in an intercounty transfer may, by mutual agreement, establish a different effective date of discontinuance, if the initiating county department can suppress card issuance for the following month." — law.cornell.edu.

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