A COVID-19 information
While the stay-home mandate for all of California issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom effective March 19, 2020, is still in effect, the governor has since announced a more restrictive, "Limited" Stay-at-Home Order effective Nov. 21, 2020, along with a “Regional Stay-at-Home Order” on Dec. 3, 2020, that will be triggered if intensive care unit (ICU) capacity drops below 15% in a given region.
In California, the COVID-19 vaccine was first provided to health care workers and long-term care residents. On Jan. 13, 2021, the state announced that it would open vaccine distribution to residents 65 or older and will be rolling out an opt-in email and text notification system the following week so that residents can register to know when they are eligible for vaccination. For information about vaccine distribution and eligibility in your county, visit https://covid19.ca.gov/get-local-information/ and select your county for details.
People should continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing. If you need medical care, please contact your primary care physician to find out which services are currently being offered as specific medical procedures that will be allowed will vary per health system.
California wildfire information
On Aug. 16, 2020, Gov. Newsom declared a statewide State of Emergency due to extreme heat and extended that proclamation on August 18 in response to wildfires.
- If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room.
- If you are having trouble accessing routine care or services due to an extended power outage, extreme heat or wildfires, please contact your primary care doctor (listed on your member ID card), contact Teladoc at 1-844-227-6955 or call our ACCESS On-Demand Concierge team at 1-833-242-2223, TTY 711, so we can help you get the care and services you need. ACCESS On-Demand Concierge services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are an Alignment Health Plan member and are unable to access care from your doctors or other health care providers due to issues related to the statewide State of Emergency, please know:
- You may receive medically necessary services from any available Medicare-certified provider or facility. This includes providers and facilities outside the medical group that you are assigned to with Alignment Health Plan.
- You do not need to obtain a prior authorization from your medical group or Alignment Health Plan in order to receive medically necessary services. Please be sure to use only Medicare-certified providers and facilities. You may do this by asking the provider or facility whether it participates in the Medicare program, which it must do to be Medicare-certified.
- You will pay the same amount as you would pay for receiving the same services through your regular medical group and/or doctor when receiving care from out-of-network Medicare-certified providers and facilities.
- We are waiving prescription refill limits so that you can receive the prescriptions you need when you need them.
- Some restrictions on home or mail delivery of prescription drugs are being relaxed.
- We are expanding access to certain telehealth services so you can connect with a doctor in the safety and comfort of your own home.
- If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room.
- For non-life-threatening care, please contact your primary care doctor (listed on your member ID card), contact Teladoc at 1-844-227-6955 or call our ACCESS On-Demand Concierge team at 1-833-242-2223, TTY 711, so we can help you get the care and services you need. ACCESS On-Demand Concierge services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Once the declared State of Emergency has ended, the temporary changes stated above will also end. Please check our website regularly for updates during this time. For more information about Alignment Health Plan’s disaster policy, please click here.
Wildfire and Extreme Heat Resources