Medi-Cal PHP and IOP in California: How It Works in the 10 Largest Counties (2026)

Medi-Cal PHP and IOP in California are arranged county by county: the state carves specialty mental health services out of your managed care plan and hands them to your county Mental Health Plan, so the number that opens the door is a county number. The Department of Health Care Services publishes one for each county, and for most members the care that follows carries no cost.

One wrinkle trips up almost every search. In state regulation the day program most people call PHP is named Day Treatment Intensive, and "Intensive Outpatient" is not a separate specialty mental health billing category. That is why searching a county website for "partial hospitalization" often returns nothing while the service exists.

This guide walks the ten largest counties in population order, gives the number the state lists for each, and says what each county's directory does and does not name. If you are in immediate danger, call 911, or call or text 988. In San Diego County the Access and Crisis Line answers at 1-888-724-7240. A blog page is not crisis care.

How this guide was put together

• Every number below is the one the Department of Health Care Services lists for that county Mental Health Plan.
• Level definitions are quoted from the state Specialty Mental Health Services Medi-Cal Billing Manual, version 1.4, which cites Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations.
• Named providers come from a county's own directory, with the address and phone it prints. Aggregator listings and marketing pages are not substituted for a county source, and nothing here is ranked.
• Where a county directory does not break out a PHP or IOP level, this guide says so. A county is described as answering around the clock where its own document says so.
• Golden Coast Rehab publishes this guide and appears in the San Diego section as a county-contracted provider.

Last verified 2026-08-30 against the Department of Health Care Services County Mental Health Plan Information page, the Specialty Mental Health Services Billing Manual v1.4, Behavioral Health Information Notice 22-011, and the county sites and directories in the sources below.

This guide is part of a series built from public county and DHCS listings. For San Diego specifically, compare ranked Medi-Cal mental health PHP programs in San Diego and the best Medi-Cal mental health IOP options in San Diego; families can start with where a parent can send an adult son in San Diego.

How does Medi-Cal mental health care work in every California county?

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program, and it splits behavioral health into two lanes. Milder care sits with your managed care plan. More intensive care, the tier called specialty mental health services, is carved out of that plan. The Department of Health Care Services puts it directly: the Mental Health Plan in each county is responsible for providing or arranging for the provision of specialty mental health services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries in their county.

Behavioral Health Information Notice 22-011, the No Wrong Door for Mental Health Services policy, took effect July 1, 2022 so that calling the wrong lane first does not cost you time. Its stated purpose is to ensure beneficiaries receive timely mental health services regardless of the delivery system where they seek care. Start anywhere and ask for a screening.

Two members in one county holding different plan cards therefore use the same door for day treatment. The levels are defined in Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations and quoted in the state billing manual.

For the same ladder from the patient's seat, our guide to choosing between PHP, IOP, and outpatient covers what a week looks like, and our PHP page and our IOP page describe both as delivered in San Diego County.

How does it work in Los Angeles County?

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health runs the Mental Health Plan. The state lists the county number as (800) 854-7771, and the county's Service Area 2 directory confirms the hours in its footer, calling it the 24/7 ACCESS Center Hotline and directing TDD and TTY users to 711. A 2024 rebrand merged mental health, substance use, and crisis access into that one number. Whichever managed care card you carry in Los Angeles, day treatment runs through the county.

Los Angeles is the clearest example of a county naming this level publicly, using "Day Treatment/Rehab" as a directory category. Two adult-eligible programs carrying it in the Service Area 2 directory are Anne Sippi Clinic Community Services, 5335 Craner Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601, (818) 927-4045, and a Help Group affiliated clinic at 15339 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406, (818) 267-2646. The county publishes one directory per service area, so ask for yours.

How does it work in San Diego County?

County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Services runs the Mental Health Plan, with Optum as its administrative services organization. Optum administers behavioral health on behalf of the county and is not an insurer, and members do not switch plans to use the system. The state lists the county number as (888) 724-7240, the San Diego Access and Crisis Line, staffed around the clock with TTY through 711 relay, serving as both access line and crisis line.

Four managed care plans operate here, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, Community Health Group, Kaiser Permanente, and Molina Healthcare, and all four route to the same county system. Our explainer on the San Diego managed care plans covers what each plan handles, and how to use Medi-Cal for mental health treatment here walks the first call step by step.

Golden Coast Rehab publishes this guide, so read this as disclosure rather than a recommendation. Golden Coast Rehab states that it is a contracted provider of specialty mental health services at the PHP and IOP levels for the County of San Diego, Behavioral Health Services under County Contract 575462, serving adults 18 and older at 8809 La Mesa Blvd., Suite 102, La Mesa, CA 91942, (858) 925-8589. That contract number is a site-stated credential, and Golden Coast Rehab serves San Diego County. Golden Coast Rehab does not provide residential, inpatient, or overnight care. Our roundups of PHP and IOP in San Diego cover the other programs we could verify, and the county resource page collects the numbers.

How does it work in Orange County?

Orange County's Mental Health Plan sits inside the Orange County Health Care Agency, Behavioral Health Services. The state lists the county number as (800) 723-8641, which the agency describes as its Behavioral Health Plan access line, available 24 hours a day, TTY through 711, with interpretation on request. OC Links, 1-855-625-4657, is an around-the-clock linkage line into any county behavioral health program. Orange is a single-plan county served by CalOptima Health.

The county's own provider directory does not break out an adult PHP or IOP tier. Day Treatment Intensive appears there under a children's program, and the directory defines the abbreviation for intensive outpatient treatment without a single entry carrying it, so the access line places adults by assessment. For county-operated starting points it lists Adult Mental Health Services West Region Outpatient and Recovery Services, 3055 West Orange Ave., Suite 105, Anaheim, CA 92804, (714) 638-8277, and the Adult Mental Health Services Anaheim Clinic, 222 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite 400, Anaheim, CA 92805, (714) 517-6300.

How does it work in Riverside County?

Riverside University Health System, Behavioral Health operates the county Mental Health Plan. The state lists the county number as (800) 706-7500, and the health system's own page gives that number as the general contact for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, with relay through 711 or TTY at 1-800-479-3310. A separate CARES Line, 1-800-499-3008, appears on the same page.

Be careful with hours. Nothing on that page describes either number as operating 24 hours a day or seven days a week, and the county's Assessment and Consultation Team intake line is listed as Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ask about hours on your first call, and use 911 or 988 after hours.

Riverside runs managed care under the state's Two-Plan model, and either plan leads to the same county system. Its public materials do not break out named adult PHP-level or IOP-level programs.

How does it work in San Bernardino County?

The San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health runs the Mental Health Plan. The state lists the county number as (888) 743-1478, and the county's own provider directory confirms on its cover page that the plan is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with TTY users directed to 711. The county also publishes a substance use helpline, (800) 968-2636, and a Community Crisis Response Team line, (800) 398-0018.

The county's directory does not break out a PHP or IOP tier. Every program is sorted by a modality field covering crisis walk-in, crisis stabilization, crisis residential, adult residential, outpatient, and youth programs, with no partial hospitalization, day treatment, or intensive outpatient label. One county-operated adult program named there is the Barstow Counseling Center, 1841 E. Main St., Barstow, CA 92311, (760) 255-5700, listed as outpatient services for adults and youth on weekdays.

How does it work in Santa Clara County?

The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department runs the Mental Health Plan. The state lists the county number as (800) 704-0900, the Behavioral Health Call Center, which the department calls the main entry point for mental health or substance use services in the county. The department's pages could not be retrieved during this research, so this guide makes no hours claim: ask when you call, and use 988 for a crisis at any hour. Santa Clara is one of the few large counties with a three-way managed care choice among Santa Clara Family Health Plan, Anthem Blue Cross, and Kaiser Permanente, none of which decides your day treatment.

The county's public materials do not break out adult PHP-level or IOP-level programs by name. One named access point is Behavioral Health Urgent Care, 2221 Enborg Lane, San José, CA 95128, (408) 885-7855, a walk-in clinic rather than a day program, so confirm its hours when you call. That is urgent care rather than a day program, so the call center is the route to an assessment.

How does it work in Alameda County?

The Alameda County Behavioral Health Department runs the Mental Health Plan, covering the county and the City of Berkeley. The state lists the county number as (800) 491-9099, and the department's own page gives that number for questions about services and eligibility without stating around-the-clock hours. For a crisis at any hour, 988 reaches Crisis Support Services of Alameda County. Alameda is a single-plan county served by Alameda Alliance for Health, with a Kaiser direct contract for qualifying members.

No Alameda directory reviewed for this guide breaks out PHP-level or IOP-level adult programs by name. Alameda Health System, the public hospital system operating under contract with the county, publishes an adult behavioral health resource list naming general outpatient and drop-in clinics, including 2620 26th Avenue and 7200 Bancroft Ave., Suite 125A, both in Oakland. Those are outpatient clinics rather than day programs.

How does it work in Sacramento County?

Sacramento County delivers its Mental Health Plan through the Division of Behavioral Health Services inside the county Department of Health Services. The state lists the county number as (888) 881-4881; the county publishes (916) 875-1055 for the same function, Behavioral Health Services Screening and Coordination, describing it as available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with California Relay at 711. The Community Wellness Response Team provides in-person crisis response dispatched through 988. Sacramento is a Geographic Managed Care county, so members choose among several plans, none of which determines where day treatment comes from.

Sacramento's public pages do not name Day Treatment Intensive, PHP, or IOP as listed levels, and no county directory breaking out those levels could be confirmed here. The county's own behavioral health page describes general adult outpatient services and a mental health urgent care clinic rather than a named day program. Call the screening line and ask for a day program assessment. Private programs in the area advertise PHP and IOP, but this guide cannot verify that they take county specialty mental health.

How does it work in Contra Costa County?

Contra Costa Behavioral Health, a division of Contra Costa Health, runs the Mental Health Plan. The state lists the county number as (888) 678-7277, which the county publishes as its 24-hour access line. It doubles as the Mental Health Plan authorization line and the gateway to county clinics, network providers, and substance use treatment. A live clinician answers on weekdays during business hours and after-hours calls transfer to a contracted service.

Contra Costa is a single-plan county where the county sponsors the managed care plan, Contra Costa Health Plan, with a Kaiser direct contract for qualifying members. Running both lanes does not merge them: the access line is still the door to specialty mental health. The county materials reviewed here do not break out named adult PHP-level or IOP-level programs, so ask whether a day program is available through a county clinic or a network provider.

How does it work in Fresno County?

The Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health runs the Mental Health Plan, and the state lists the county number as (800) 654-3937. A second number, (800) 704-0900, circulates in search results attached to Fresno, but that is Santa Clara County's number, so use (800) 654-3937 and confirm on the call. The county's own pages could not be retrieved during this research, so this guide makes no hours claim for Fresno; use 911 or 988 for an emergency. Managed care follows the Two-Plan model, with a local plan shared across Fresno, Kings, and Madera counties.

Fresno does maintain a Mental Health Plan provider directory covering county-operated and contracted providers, revised in late 2025. That document could not be opened during this research, so this guide names no Fresno providers. Ask the access line for the current directory and for an assessment.

How do you start in your county?

The sequence is the same in all ten counties. Call your county Mental Health Plan number and say you are a Medi-Cal member asking for a mental health assessment. Describe daily life rather than naming a level of care: days missed, whether you are sleeping and eating, any recent hospital visit, and what happens on the worst days. The assessment decides the level, and describing function is what makes it accurate.

Reaching your managed care plan first is not a wasted call. Under the No Wrong Door policy the plan routes you rather than turning you away, and you can keep a provider you trust. If a hospital is discharging you, ask for the referral before you leave, because a warm handoff moves faster than a cold call, as our piece on hospital referrals into PHP describes.

Expect an assessment rather than a menu. Most county directories here do not let you shop by level, which means the county assigns it clinically. If a program is recommended, ask what the step-down looks like first, because what happens after a day program is where progress holds or slips.

What should you ask the access line?

Four questions get you most of the way.

• What are your hours, and what number do I call outside them? Not every county publishes around-the-clock hours for the Mental Health Plan line.
• Do you have a structured day program, sometimes called day treatment intensive or partial hospitalization, for adults with Medi-Cal, and how do I get assessed for it?
• Will this cost me anything? For most Medi-Cal members the answer is no, and it is worth hearing from the county.
• I also have a substance use concern; is that handled in this call or another one? Some counties merged the lines and some did not, and it is worth asking for the current provider directory for your area on the same call.

If you are calling for an adult child, spouse, or parent, say so at the start. Privacy law limits what the county can tell you about an adult without a signed release, but nothing stops you from giving the county information. Our page for families covers that boundary, and what a day program costs covers the money question.