In February 2023, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced the launch of its Medi-Cal Member Advisory Committee (MMAC). The committee consists of diverse Medi-Cal members from across the state and strives to ensure that members, including many from historically marginalized communities, have an active voice in shaping DHCS programs and policies. The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), with support from the California Health Care Foundation, partnered with DHCS to develop recommendations to inform the design of the MMAC and produced two reports:

• Medi-Cal Member Advisory Committee: Design Recommendations for the California Department of Health Care Services presents the CHCS’ MMAC design recommendations and summarizes the research and feedback that informed them.
• Designing Medi-Cal Consumer Advisory Committees: Insights from a Survey of Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans presents survey findings from 14 of Medi-Cal’s 23 managed care plans to understand their consumer advisory committee practices and identify promising approaches.

Key findings from these reports that are helpful components in designing the MMAC include composition and size, recruitment, compensation, meeting logistics and facilitation, and trust building. While this initiative takes place in California, these resources can inform other stakeholders’ practices nationwide.