Consumers Have Until April 15 to Enroll in Covered California
Responding to a high volume of consumer interest that swamped
Covered California’s phone lines and online application system in
the final days leading up to the close of open enrollment on
March 31, Covered California announced that it is allowing
consumers until April 15 to contact an enrollment expert and
complete their application for health coverage. The deadline for
getting coverage in the state exchange’s first open-enrollment
period was March 31, 2014.
AB 85 (Chapter 24, Statutes of 2013) contains the framework for
implementing the county savings associated with the Affordable
Care and Patient Protection Act (ACA). One of the provisions of
the measure allows counties that chose a cost-based formula under
Articles 12 and 13 to submit petitions disputing the Department
of Health Care Services’ determination of a county’s historic
realignment percentage. Initially, eight counties submitted
petitions.
AB 1452 (Stone) – Support
As Introduced on January 8, 2014
AB 1452, by Assembly Member Mark Stone, would increase the amount
of homeless assistance funding available to a family of four from
$65 to $75. It would also require annual adjustments of the
amount based on increases or decreases in cost of living
expenses.
CSAC supports the measure, which is set for hearing March 25 in
the Assembly Human Services Committee.
SB 1029 (Hancock) – Support
As Introduced on February 14, 2014
SB 1029, by Senator Loni Hancock, would authorize CalWORKs and
CalFresh benefits for individuals in the community who were
convicted of a drug felony after December 31, 1997. SB 1029 is
set for hearing on April 8 before the Senate Human Services
Committee.
Legislature Begins Work on Health and Human Services Budget
Issues
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 held its first hearings of the
year on the 2014-15 state budget issues related to health and
human services. The Subcommittee is now chaired by Assembly
Member Shirley Weber. The rest of the subcommittee membership
remains unchanged, including Assembly Members Wes Cesbro, Roger
Dickinson, Shannon Grove, and Alan Mansoor.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released it analyses of
the health and human services budget proposals on Thursday. Links
to the reports may be found here: health
budget andhuman services budget.
February 28 Deadline to Submit Petitions to the County Health
Care Funding Resolution Committee
Please recall that under state law counties can dispute certain
issues with the state of California as counties move forward with
the implementation of the county health savings structure
inAssembly Bill 85 and Senate Bill 98. February 28 is
the deadline to submit petitions to the state if your county
disagrees with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
determination on the historical amounts and percentages,
including the realignment percentage.
Senate Committees Focus on Coordinated Care Initiative Concerns
in Joint Hearing
The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review and Health Committees held a
joint hearing yesterday for an oversight hearing of the state’s
Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI) demonstration project.
AB 467 (Stone) – Support
As Amended on January 7, 2014
AB 467, by Assembly Member Mark Stone, would allow the California
State Board of Pharmacy to license a surplus medication
collection and distribution intermediary, with rigid standards
and safeguards to ensure the efficiency and safety of county
Pharmaceutical Repository and Distribution Programs (SB 1329 by
Senator Joe Simitian, Chapter 709, Statutes of 2012).
SB 508 (Hernandez) – Support
As amended January 9, 2014
SB 508 makes necessary changes to the statutory framework for
California’s implementation of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The measure is a follow up to
SBX1 1 (Hernandez and Steinberg, Chapter 4, Statutes of 2013) and
ABX1 1 (Perez, Chapter 3, Statutes of 2013).
CSAC Annual Meeting Offers Wide Range of HHS Meetings and
Workshops
We HHS types are especially excited about this year’s CSAC Annual
Meeting in Santa Clara County, starting with the theme: Healthy
Counties, Healthy California.
To showcase the theme, we are offering a wide range of meetings
and workshops – even a special screening of an Academy
Award-winning documentary “Inocente” to spotlight the health and
welfare of homeless youth.
AB 720 (Skinner) – Chaptered
Chapter 646, Statutes of 2013
AB 720, by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, will help reduce
recidivism and assist counties in our responsibility for post
release community supervision of individuals in county jails by
clarifying statute related to inmate Medicaid eligibility.
SB 98 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) – Request for
Signature
Chaptered September 26, 2013
The Governor signed SB 98, by the Senate Committee on Budget and
Fiscal Review, into law on Thursday. SB 98 is a technical cleanup
measure related to AB 85, the budget trailer bill outlining the
county health realignment “savings” framework under the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), and it contained several key
provisions for counties, including:
SB 98 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) – Request for
Signature
Enrolled September 10, 2013
SB 98, by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, is a
technical cleanup measure related to AB 85, the budget trailer
bill outlining the county health realignment “savings” framework
under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in
June. SN 98 is the product of weeks of effort and
collaboration between CSAC, the Department of Finance,
legislative staff, county affiliates and other
stakeholders.
SBX1 3 (Hernandez) – Support
As Amended on June 19, 2013
SBX1 3, by Senator Ed Hernandez, would create a health care
“Bridge Plan” to create a low-cost health plan through Covered
California that would help ensure provider continuity for
low-income individuals as they move between eligibility for
public and private health coverage.
The CSAC Executive Committee supported as similar measure by
Senator Hernandez last year (SB 703) that would have created a
Basic Health Plan.
The Senate and Assembly both passed the Medicaid expansion bills,
SBX1 1 (Hernandez) and ABX1 1 (Pérez) as part of the budget
process over the weekend. Both bills were amended to clarify two
different aspects to the expansion: SBX1 1 focuses primarily on
Medi-Cal benefits issues, while ABX1 1 focuses on eligibility
changes.
The Senate and Assembly will hear both Medicaid expansion bills,
SBX1 1 (Hernandez) and ABX1 1 (Pérez), in their respective Health
Committees next week. The Assembly Health Committee will also
hear SBX1 3 (Hernandez), which is the measure to create a
“Bridge” program between Medi-Cal and the health care exchange
(Covered California).
Measures to Restore Medi-Cal Provider Rate Cuts Face Fiscal
Committees
Two measures – one in each House – designed to restore deep
Medi-Cal provider reimbursement cuts face tough sledding in the
Legislature’s fiscal committees.
