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Welcome to Orange County's Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS). The County Plan provides substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services for all eligible Medi-Cal members who reside in Orange County.
You can access DMC-ODS services by calling the 24/7 Member Access Line at (800) 723-8641, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Visit our online Provider Directory by clicking here.
Our mission is to prevent substance use and mental health disorders; when signs are present, to intervene early and appropriately; and when assessments indicate that treatment is required, to provide the right type of treatment, at the right place, by the right person/program to help individuals to achieve and maintain the highest quality of health and wellness.
As a member, your plan offers a full range of SUD treatment services to you when they are medically necessary. The County Plan requires for treatment placement decisions to follow the criteria established by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
For more information on OC Substance Use Disorder Services, call OCLinks, the 24/7 Behavioral Health Services Line at (855) 625-4657. You don't need to do anything else. As a Medi-Cal member, you are already eligible for these services if you need them.
Levels of Care (Treatment Placement)
- Outpatient Drug Free (ODF) consists of up to nine hours a week for adults and less than six hours a week for adolescents when determined to be medically necessary. Services can be provided by a licensed professional or a certified/registered counselor in any appropriate setting in the community.
- Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOT) consists of a minimum of nine hours with a maximum of 19 hours a week for adults and a minimum of six hours with a maximum of 19 hours a week for adolescents when determined to be medically. Services can be provided by a certified counselor in any appropriate setting in the community.
- Residential Treatment is a non-institutional, 24-hour non-medical, short-term residential program that provides rehabilitation services when determined as medically necessary. Residential services require prior authorization by the County Plan. Residential authorizations are not time limited and are based on medical necessity, with the goal for a statewide average length of stay of 30 days.
- Recovery Services are important for recovery and wellness. The treatment community helps members be empowered and prepared to manage their health and health care.
- Withdrawal Management services are offered in residential, non-institutional, non-medical withdrawal management programs that utilize a social model detox system to help members during the non-acute detoxification process. Withdrawal Management stays are based on medical necessity. Acute withdrawal management services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you are experiencing acute or severe withdrawal, go to your nearest emergency room.
- Narcotic Treatment Program/Opioid Treatment Program (NTP/OTP) services are available to individuals 12 years old and older, seven (7) days a week and are provided by licensed NTP facilities. You must be a resident of Orange County to receive NTP services at Orange County NTP sites. Occasional courtesy dosing of members from other counties occurs on a case-by-case basis. Members should contact the NTP to determine the steps needed to obtain an occasional dose outside of their county of residence.
- Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of prescription medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies. MAT services can occur in conjunction with any of the ASAM levels of care that are covered under the plan.
- SUD Peer Mentoring services are provided by peers who have lived experience and are in recovery. These services are provided to adults and adolescents, 12 years and older who are in treatment for SUD in Orange County. Peers in this program will collaborate with the client’s primary counselor and become a part of the treatment team to support the client in meeting their treatment goals. Most services will be provided in the community where clients are located.
- Perinatal Services are provided to clients who are pregnant or up to 12 months postpartum. The Outpatient and Residential Providers offering perinatal services provide additional parenting education, referrals, transportation, childcare, and other services, as specified by the DHCS Perinatal Practice Guidelines. If Client no longer meets this Perinatal definition, the Client would be eligible for non-Perinatal services as long as they meet medical necessity for the designated level of care.
(Non-DMC)
- Recovery Residence housing is offered to adults 18 years and older that need a sober living environment. All residents must be enrolled and actively participating in a recovery service to maintain their sobriety. Housing is available up to 4 months.
Services for Youth
Youth under 21 years of age may receive additional medically necessary services under Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT). EPSDT services include screening, vision, dental, hearing and all other medically necessary mandatory and optional services listed in federal law 42 U.S.C. 1396d(a) to correct or ameliorate defects and physical and mental illnesses and conditions identified in an EPSDT screening whether or not the services are covered for adults.
For a more complete description of the EPSDT services that are available or to have your questions answered, please call Orange County's Children, Youth and Prevention Behavioral Health Services between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at (714) 834-5015.
Services Based on Standard Practice Guidelines
The county of Orange offers services that are based on valid and reliable clinical evidence or a consensus of providers in the field. We consider the needs of our members and adopt practice guidelines in consultation with our network of healthcare providers. Practices are reviewed and updated periodically to ensure their relevance to the clients we serve. You can review all the county's practice guidelines by clicking on the link: Practice Guidelines.
Member Informing Materials
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| Behavioral Health Plan Member Handbook
Audio Format
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DMC-ODS Provider Directory
- Online
Offline PDFs -
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
Quality Assurance Work Plan
- Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement Program
Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) Implementation Plan Resources
- Orange County DMC-ODS Implementation Plan - PDF
- DMC-ODS Intergovernmental Agreement - PDF
- Other Resources
MOU between CalOptima Health and Health Care Agency
- General MOU between CalOptima Health and HCA - PDF
- Execution Date: 02/14/2025
Behavioral Health Quarterly Meeting Dates - Calendar Year 2025
- 01/15/2025
- 03/19/2025
- 05/21/2025
- 07/16/2025
- 09/17/2025
- 11/19/2025
These meetings are not intended to be open to the public.
MOU between Kaiser Permanente and Health Care Agency
- General MOU between Kaiser Permanente and HCA - PDF
- Execution Date: 10/27/2025
Behavioral Health Quarterly Meeting Dates - Calendar Year 2025
- 12/11/2025
These meetings are not intended to be open to the public.
MOU Between the Managed Care Plans (MCP) and Health Care Agency, Behavioral Health Annual Reporting to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
- 2025 - PDF
For information and resources about Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS), visit http://www.ochealthinfo.com/bhs/about/medi_cal
Links in this section relate to Body