BILL NUMBER: AB 2096 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez FEBRUARY 23, 2012 An act to amend Section 14182.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2096, as introduced, V. Manuel Pérez. Public health care: Medi-Cal: demonstration projects. Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal Hospital/Uninsured Care Demonstration Project Act, which revises hospital supplemental payment methodologies under the Medi-Cal program in order to maximize the use of federal funds consistent with federal Medicaid law and to stabilize the distribution of funding for hospitals that provide care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured patients. Existing law requires the department to seek another demonstration project or federal waiver of Medicaid law to implement specified objectives, which may include better care coordination for seniors, persons with disabilities, and children with special health care needs. Existing law provides that to the extent the provisions under the Medi-Cal Hospital/Uninsured Care Demonstration Project Act do not conflict with the provisions of, or the Special Terms and Conditions of, this demonstration project, the provisions of the Medi-Cal Hospital/Uninsured Care Demonstration Project Act shall apply. Under existing law, if the Director of Health Care Services determines that the amount of base funding available under the new demonstration project is less than a specified amount available to public hospitals under the original demonstration project, the state is authorized to reallocate funding to increase the amount of base funding for the new demonstration project. This bill would refer ro designated and nondesignated public hospitals, in the latter provision described above.. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 14182.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 14182.3. (a) To the extent the provisions of Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14166) do not conflict with the provisions of this article or the Special Terms and Conditions of the new demonstration project created under this article, the provisions of Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14166) shall continue to apply to the new demonstration project. (b) In the event of a conflict between any provision of this article and the Special Terms and Conditions required by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the approval of the demonstration project described in Section 14180, the Special Terms and Conditions shall control. (c) (1) Under the demonstration project described in Section 14180, the state shall have priority to claim against and retain the first five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in federal funds using expenditures incurred under state-only programs or other programs for which the state is authorized to claim under the Special Terms and Conditions of the demonstration project or federal Medicaid law, including state-only programs that serve special populations, such as those for which state savings were recognized in the Budget Act for the 2010-11 fiscal year. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the director determines that the amount of base funding available under the demonstration project described in Section 14180 is less than the six hundred eighty-one million six hundred forty thousand dollars ($681,640,000) available to designated and nondesignated public hospitals under the original demonstration project, the state may reallocate an amount from the five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) described in paragraph (1) to increase the amount of base funding under the new demonstration project to six hundred eighty one million six hundred forty thousand dollars ($681,640,000). (3) For purposes of this section, the term "base funding" includes funding for the safety net care pool or a similar pool or fund for health coverage expansion, and for an investment, incentive, or similar pool, but shall not include funds made available to hospitals or counties for inpatient or outpatient Medi-Cal reimbursements, expansion of managed care for seniors and persons with disabilities, or other expansions of systems of care for individuals who are eligible under the Medi-Cal state plan. (4) If the state is unable to claim the full amount of the five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) described in paragraph (1), any portion of the amount that remains unclaimed may be reallocated to be claimed based on the certified public expenditures of the designated public hospitals. (d) The director shall have authority to maximize available federal financial participation under the demonstration project described in Section 14180, including, but not limited to, authorizing the use of intergovernmental transfers by district hospitals that are not reimbursed under a contract negotiated pursuant to the Selective Provider Contracting Program, to fund the nonfederal share of expenditures to the extent permitted by the Special Terms and Conditions of the demonstration project. (e) Participation in intergovernmental transfers under this section is voluntary on the part of the transferring entity for purposes of all applicable federal laws. As part of its voluntary participation in the nonfederal share of payments under this subdivision by means of intergovernmental transfers, the transferring entity agrees to reimburse the state for the nonfederal share of state staffing or administrative costs directly attributable to the state's implementation of these voluntary intergovernmental transfers. This subdivision shall be implemented only to the extent federal financial participation is not jeopardized. (f) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department may clarify, interpret, or implement the provisions of this section by means of provider bulletins or similar instructions. The department shall notify the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature of its intent to issue instructions under this section at least five days in advance of the issuance.