Central California Alliance for Health | Living Healthy | March 2019

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY is published for the members and community partners of CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR HEALTH, 1600 Green Hills Road, Suite 101, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, telephone (831) 430-5500 or (800) 700-3874, ext. 5505, website www.ccah-alliance.org. Information in LIVING HEALTHY comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. 2019 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editor Erin Huang Health Programs Supervisors Desirre Herrera and Mao Moua Health Programs Manager Deborah Pineda www.ccah-alliance.org We know it is important for you to get care when you need it. But it is not always possible for a doctor to see you right away. You may have to wait longer for some types of appointments than others. For example, if you are sick, you should be able to get an urgent visit sooner than an appointment for a regular checkup. We work with the doctors and clinics in our network to make sure you can get care when you need it. We have always done this because we know it is important. Health plans in California have to meet certain standards for access to care. The regulations to put this law into place are called the Timely Access to Non-Emergency Health Care Services standards. There are different standards for different types of appointments. In the chart below are the standards for different types of appointments. The waiting times for an appointment may be longer if the provider feels that it will not harm your health if you have a longer wait. TYPE OF CARE YOU NEED TIME TO GET AN APPOINTMENT Urgent visit that does not require prior authorization 48 hours Urgent visit that requires prior authorization 96 hours Non-urgent primary care appointments 10 business days Non-urgent specialist 15 business days Non-urgent mental health provider (non-physician) 10 business days Non-urgent visit for ancillary services for the diagnosis or treatment of injury, illness or other health condition 15 business days Telephone wait times during normal business hours 10 minutes Telephone triage (Alliance Nurse Advice Line) 24/7 services—No more than 30 minutes IF YOU FEEL you are not getting care when you need it, call Member Ser vices at (800) 700-3874 . Getting an appointment: How long should you have to wait?