Family PACT

On October 16, 2025, the Department of Health Care Services published updated policy to the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) program implementing Senate Bill 1131, allowing one site certifier to oversee up to ten service locations for the designated clinic types specified in Family PACT Policies, Procedures, and Billing Instructions Manual, Provider Enrollment and Responsibilities section. 

Additional manual updates include:

• clarification that Family PACT providers must ensure client access to comprehensive family planning services on the same day eligibility is determined,

• clarification that Family PACT providers must inform clients that their Health Access Program Identification Numbers are valid at any Family PACT provider location, and

• minor edits throughout to clarify language and correct general terminology.

Providers planning to appoint one site certifier to oversee multiple locations must sign the updated Family PACT Program Provider Agreement (DHCS 4469) and submit a Site Certifier for Multiple Service Locations Declaration Form, which DHCS will review for approval.

The Family PACT Portal will be updated to reflect these changes. These updates serve as user functionality enhancements, focusing on expanding Site Certifier and Provider Staff site location limitations while adding more flexibility when editing or changing accounts.

These enhancements:

• Site Certifiers will be able to navigate and switch to multiple site locations that they are associated with on the Access Management Dashboard.

• Site Certifiers and Provider Staff can be associated with multiple site locations that can be viewed when creating an account or in account settings.

• Site Certifiers will be able to edit, resend, revoke, disassociate, and deactivate other Privileged Staff and Provider Staff accounts.

• Site Certifiers capabilities can be granted to Provider Staff at the same site location making them Privileged Provider Staff.

• Notifications will be sent to active Site Certifiers when site locations are associated/disassociated and to Provider Staff when entitlements are granted/removed.

• Site Certifiers and Provider Staff will be able to designate the site location they’re working from.

Additional information about Provider Enrollment and Responsibilities is available on the Family PACT Provider Enrollment webpage and Family PACT Policies, Procedures, and Billing Instructions Manual, Provider Enrollment and Responsibilities section.

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will perform a system update to the Family PACT Portal beginning at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, October 17, 2025, through 6:00 a.m. on Monday, October 20, 2025. During this time, the Family PACT Portal will be unavailable to clients, providers, and DHCS staff.

Providers affected by this outage should continue enrolling and reaffirming clients using the Client Eligibility Certification (CEC) paper form and provide services as usual. To ensure uninterrupted services during the outage, providers will need to initiate downtime procedures.

Downtime Procedures for Family PACT Providers:

New Clients:

• Complete the CEC Form to determine eligibility.
• If eligible, proceed with the visit under the Family PACT Program.
• Submit the client’s enrollment in the Family PACT Portal as soon as possible once access is restored (e.g., Monday, September 8, 2025).

Returning Clients:

• Reaffirm eligibility using a new CEC Form.
• Proceeds with the scheduled visit.

For clients seen during the downtime period, providers must contact the Office of Family Planning (OFP) to back-date enrollment to the date of service.

Please note that providers should periodically check the Family PACT Portal in case the outage ends early.

For any questions or assistance, please contact providerservices@dhcs.ca.gov or via phone at 916-650-0414.

What You Need to Know:

1. HAP Cards No Longer Issued:
   • Effective January 13, 2025, HAP cards will no longer be provided by the FI.
2. HAP Identification:
   • HAP cards are now digitized and can be accessed and printed directly from the user’s Family PACT account via the Family PACT portal. The number can be printed or shown electronically on a mobile device when visiting a provider. Providers can print the card for the client, or the client may print it themselves.
3. Returning Unused HAP Cards:
   • Providers are responsible for returning any unused numbered HAP cards to the Fiscal Intermediary (FI) as soon as possible.
4. To return unused HAP cards:
   • Package the unused numbered HAP cards with a cover letter that includes your provider number or National Provider Identifier (NPI) used to order the cards.
   • Mail the package via UPS or a similar service to the following address:

California MMIS Fiscal Intermediary
Attn: Print and Distribution Center
830 Stillwater Road
West Sacramento, CA 95605

1. Accessing the New CalHEERS Family PACT Portal:
   • To access the Family PACT portal, providers must ensure the most current site certifier contact information is updated in PAVE to receive login credentials.
   • If a site certifier is not in PAVE, send the site certifier information (practitioner NPI, first and last name, email address) to providerservices@dhcs.ca.gov
   • Note: Even if the site certifier information is sent via email, you are still required to update PAVE with the most current site certifier information.

Moving Forward:

• On February 3, 2025, all Family PACT client enrollment activities, including changes and deactivations, will be completed exclusively through the Family PACT portal.
• No further HAP cards will be issued.
• Providers have access to comprehensive training and job aids through the Family PACT Online Training Center Learning Management System.
• Updates will be posted on the Family PACT website.

For any questions or assistance, please contact providerservices@dhcs.ca.gov.

An Erroneous Payment Correction (EPC) will be implemented to reprocess denied claims with dates of service on or after the effective date of this billing policy, that were appropriately submitted based on the guidance published in this article, but erroneously denied because Medi-Cal had not yet implemented the system changes to support appropriate adjudication. Providers may also elect to use this updated billing policy to correct and resubmit previously denied claims as described in the CIF Submission and Timeliness Instructions section of the Provider Manual.

Please refer to the March Family PACT Bulletin for more information.

DHCS anticipates that proposed Family PACT regulations will be on the rulemaking calendar for 2026. For more information on the DHCS rulemaking process, please visit the DHCS’ Office of Regulations webpage.