Bill Text: CA AB2612 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Medi-Cal.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-09-16 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2612 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2612-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2612	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 19, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 5, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dababneh
    (   Coauthor:   Senator   Beall
  ) 

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add  Sections 14124.28 and  
Section  14129 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to
Medi-Cal.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2612, as amended, Dababneh.  Medi-Cal: substance use
disorder treatment.   Medi-Cal. 
   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 federal law prohibits federal
financial participation for care or services provided to inmates of a
public  institution and care or services provided to
patients in an institution for mental diseases. Existing law
establishes the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program (Drug Medi-Cal) under
which the department is authorized to enter into contracts with
counties for various drug treatment services to Medi-Cal recipients,
or is required to directly arrange for these services if a county
elects not to do so.   institution.  
   This bill would require the department to submit an application
for a specified waiver or waiver amendment necessary to create a
process by which federal financial participation may be claimed for
stays of 120 days or less in an institution for mental diseases for
beneficiaries with a substance use disorder diagnosis. 
   Existing law authorizes the department, subject to federal
approval, to create a health home program for enrollees with chronic
conditions, as prescribed.
   This bill would require the department, in implementing that
program, to request a waiver of federal law to authorize the state to
claim federal financial participation for health home services
provided to individuals, who are otherwise eligible under the health
home program and who are state or county inmates in their last 30
days in custody, by a provider or team of providers, as specified, to
ensure coordination of care and reduce gaps in care.
   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.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also
known as health care reform, is designed to ensure every American has
access to health care. Eligibility for the federal low-income health
insurance program, which is Medi-Cal in California, was expanded to
include childless adults earning less than 138 percent of the federal
poverty level.
   (2) The cost of the Medi-Cal expansion will be fully paid by the
federal government until 2017, when the federal government
contribution will decline gradually to 90 percent, where it will
remain in 2020 and each year thereafter.
   (3) According to research done by the National Health Law Program,
a large percentage of individuals in county jails, and those being
released, are uninsured and may be eligible for Medi-Cal.
   (4) According to a study published in the American Journal of
Public Health, many individuals in county jails, and those being
released, have  higher rates of certain chronic diseases,
including hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and  untreated
substance use disorders.  They are also more likely to suffer
from a serious mental illness. 
   (5) In implementing health care reform, California expanded
 insurance benefits for substance use disorder treatment for
new and existing Medi-Cal beneficiaries.   existing
health home pilot projects to help acutely ill individuals who
frequently seek care in emergency rooms through coordinated care and
intensive intervention. 
   (6) Placement in  residential programs can treat issues
associated with substance use disorders and thereby reduce costs and
recidivism associated with individuals in county jails. 
 a health home can help to reduce recidivism associ  
ated with untreated primary care, mental health, and substance abuse
issues, thereby reducing county jail and other criminal justice
system costs. 
   (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
the  use of appropriate residential substance use disorder
treatment programs for individuals in the criminal justice system.
  appropriate use of health homes for people in the
criminal justice system. 
   (c) It is further the intent of the Legislature, in order to
increase access to primary care, mental health treatment, and
substance use disorder treatment for individuals in the criminal
justice system, that individuals who are otherwise eligible for
Medi-Cal and who are not inmates of a public institution shall be
eligible for Medi-Cal benefits. This includes, but is not limited to,
individuals in formal or informal diversion or deferred entry of
judgment programs; individuals on probation, as defined in Section
1203 of the Penal Code; individuals on parole, as described in
Section 3000 of the Penal Code; individuals on postrelease community
supervision, as described in Section 3451 of the Penal Code; and
individuals on mandatory supervision as defined in clause (ii) of
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 1170
of the Penal Code. 
  SEC. 2.    Section 14124.28 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   14124.28.  The department shall submit an application for any
Section 1115 waiver or waiver amendment necessary to create a process
by which federal financial participation may be claimed for stays of
120 days or less in an institution for mental diseases, as defined
in Section 1396d(i) of Title 42 of the United States Code, for
beneficiaries with a substance use disorder diagnosis for purposes of
treating the individual's diagnosed substance use disorder.

   SEC. 3.   SEC. 2.   Section 14129 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following
Section 14128, to read:
   14129.  The department shall, in implementing this article,
request a waiver of federal law to authorize the state to claim
federal financial participation for health home services provided to
individuals, who are otherwise eligible to receive health home
services under this article and who are state or county inmates in
their last 30 days in custody, by a provider or team of providers, as
described in subdivision (c) of Section 14127, to ensure
coordination of care and reduce gaps in care. Prerelease health home
services shall be limited to services described in Section 14127.2
and shall not include health care services.