Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is a statewide Medi-Cal benefit for members with the most complex medical and social needs. Institute on Aging is one of California’s largest ECM providers, serving members across 15 counties.
Whether you need care, or you refer the people who do, start here.
of Medicare discharges result in a 30-day readmission
in avoidable costs to the health system each year
Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is a no-cost Medi-Cal benefit that gives eligible members a single lead care manager who coordinates everything: doctors, specialists, behavioral health, housing, food, transportation, and benefits. Care happens wherever the member is most comfortable, at home, in the hospital, at a shelter, or out in the community.
ECM is voluntary. Members can opt in or out at any time, and there is never a cost to them.
California is currently transitioning ECM into California Integrated Care Management (CICM), which keeps the same benefit and adds dementia as a population of focus. You may see it called CICM, previously known as CalAIM ECM. Institute on Aging delivers the program under both names.
You or someone you love has Medi-Cal, ongoing health or social needs, and could use one person keeping track of all of it.
You discharge patients, manage a Medi-Cal population, or run a county program, and you need a community partner who can take the handoff and keep it.
ECM is offered to Medi-Cal members in specific populations of focus. If any of these describe you or your patient, it is worth a conversation.
Peer-reviewed and state evaluations of California’s Enhanced Care Management benefit.
fewer emergency department visits
fewer inpatient hospital stays
more outpatient and preventive visits
drop in PHQ-9 depression score
Lu D, et al. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2026;41(5):1222–1228. Statewide, 227,500 members were served by ECM in Q3 2025, up 59% year over year (DHCS).
Institute on Aging delivers CalAIM Enhanced Care Management across 15 California counties.
| County | Medi-Cal managed care plans | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda | Alameda Alliance for Health | Refer a member |
| Merced | Central California Alliance for Health | Refer a member |
| Monterey | Central California Alliance for Health | Refer a member |
| Napa | Partnership HealthPlan of California | Refer a member |
| Riverside | Inland Empire Health Plan, Molina Healthcare | Refer a member |
| San Benito | Central California Alliance for Health | Refer a member |
| San Bernardino | Inland Empire Health Plan, Molina Healthcare | Refer a member |
| San Francisco | San Francisco Health Plan | County page |
| San Mateo | Health Plan of San Mateo | Refer a member |
| Santa Clara | Santa Clara Family Health Plan | Refer a member |
| Santa Cruz | Central California Alliance for Health | Refer a member |
| Solano | Partnership HealthPlan of California | Refer a member |
| Sonoma | Partnership HealthPlan of California | Refer a member |
| Sutter | Partnership HealthPlan of California | Refer a member |
| Yolo | Partnership HealthPlan of California | Refer a member |
Plan participation varies by county and can change. Plan list current as of June 2026. If you are not sure which plan you have, call 415.750.4111 and we will help you find out.
We accept Enhanced Care Management referrals from members of these Medi-Cal managed care plans, and more. Plan participation varies by county.
Plan list current as of June 2026.
Members and families
Call 415.750.4111, or ask your health plan or hospital care manager to refer you to Institute on Aging.
Hospital and clinic care teams
Our care managers are embedded in acute care settings across the Bay Area and can enroll an eligible patient before discharge.
Health plans and health systems
Contact our partnerships team about capacity, contracting, and the ACT model.
Enhanced Care Management is a statewide Medi-Cal managed care benefit created under CalAIM, California’s multi-year Medi-Cal transformation. It gives members with complex needs a single lead care manager who coordinates medical, behavioral, dental, and social services, and who meets members in person wherever they are.
ECM is offered to Medi-Cal managed care members who fall into one of the state’s populations of focus: people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity; people with serious mental health conditions or substance use disorders; adults recently released from incarceration; high utilizers of emergency departments and hospitals; adults at risk of nursing home or institutional placement; and children and youth with complex medical needs.
Eligibility is confirmed by your Medi-Cal managed care plan. If you are not sure, call us at 415.750.4111 and we will help you find out.
Nothing. Enhanced Care Management is a covered Medi-Cal benefit provided at no cost to eligible members. There are no copays and no bills.
No. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) is the reform initiative that added new benefits to Medi-Cal, including Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports.
California Integrated Care Management (CICM) is the next phase of the same benefit. The services are substantially the same, and CICM adds dementia as a population of focus. You may see the program described as CICM, previously known as CalAIM ECM. Institute on Aging delivers it under both names, and members already enrolled do not need to reapply.
ECM is the care management itself: the person who coordinates everything. Community Supports are the individual services a health plan can authorize in place of more expensive care, such as housing navigation, medically tailored meals, home modifications, or recuperative care. Many members receive both, and an ECM care manager is usually the one who arranges them.
In most cases, yes. If your Medi-Cal managed care plan contracts with Institute on Aging in your county, you can ask your plan to assign you to IOA. Call 415.750.4111 and we will walk you through it.
No. ECM is added on top of your existing benefits. It does not replace your doctor, your health plan, or any service you already receive, and participation is voluntary. You can opt out at any time.
Members, families, hospital care teams, and health plans can all reach us here.
