September 22, 2016

Now that the Legislative session is over, the Governor has until September 30 to act on the bills passed by both houses of the Legislature.  We are not requesting a veto on any of the HHS-related measures on Governor Brown’s desk. Several bills that CSAC supports are currently waiting to be signed, including:

AB 2448 (Burke) would reduce barriers to high school graduation by CalWORKs participants.

August 25, 2016

Things are picking up speed in the Legislature as the end of session approaches. Several health and human services bills that CSAC has been actively monitoring are either in the final stages of legislative approval or headed to the governor’s desk this week:

AB 59, by Assembly Member Marie Waldron, would extend the Laura’s Law sunset date by five years, from 2017 to 2022. CSAC and the Urban Counties of California both support this version of the bill, which was sent to the Governor’s desk on August 24.  

August 11, 2016

An issue brief on Whole Person Care is available from the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH) and the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI). The brief explains the goals of the Whole Person Care Pilot, the application process, and some of the ways the pilots will be implemented locally in California. The brief includes spotlights on Ventura County, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco City and County.

August 11, 2016

The second act to implement the financing portion of the new No Place Like Home program was released on Tuesday in the form of twin budget bill vehicles: AB 1628 and SB 858.

July 14, 2016

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Policy Committee will consider taking a position on two propositions on the November ballot when it meets on July 18. Proposition 55 is the tax extension to fund education and healthcare that would extend portions of the taxes voters approved as Proposition 30 in 2012. Proposition 56 is the cigarette tax to fund healthcare, tobacco use prevention, research and law enforcement. Policy Committee members will be hearing from both proponents and opponents of the measure during the meeting.

June 23, 2016

Data Collection

AB 2425 (Brown) –Oppose
As Amended May 31, 2016

June 23, 2016

AB 1618, the No Place Like Home Program, is expected to be amended either today or tomorrow and heard by the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee on Monday. CSAC will review any new amendments to the measure to ensure they are consistent with the framework negotiated by CSAC and county organizations and adopted by the committee on June 15.

June 16, 2016

If you want to know more about the Whole Person Care (WPC) Pilot opportunity in California’s Medi-Cal 2020 Waiver, CSAC is co-sponsoring a webinar on Thursday, June 23, that should be helpful. The Department of Health Care Services will participate in the webinar to address outstanding questions related to the WPC applications which are due July 1.

June 9, 2016

Counties interested in participating in the Whole Person Care (WPC) Pilot Program need to submit their applications by July 1. WPC is a five-year program, authorized under the Medi-Cal 2020 wavier, that coordinates physical health, behavioral health, and social services in a patient-centered manner.

June 9, 2016

CSAC staff would like to get some county feedback on SB 586 (Hernandez), a bill related to the California Children’s Services (CCS) program. The measure would allow contracts entered into under the Whole Child Model program to be incorporated into a Medi-Cal managed care contract. And it would also extend allowing CCS program-covered services to be  incorporated in a Medi-Cal manage care contract.

May 20, 2016

Funding to Expand 2-1-1 Network Gets Hearing, Placed on Suspense File

May 20, 2016

The CSAC Health and Human Services Policy Committee discussed updates on the state budget and heard about strategies to find permanent homes for older foster youth at the CSAC Legislative Conference in Sacramento on Thursday.

May 5, 2106

Two identical bills which would implement California’s new Medicaid Section 1115 “Medi-Cal 2020” Wavier, are currently moving through the Legislature. The new waiver, which was approved in December 2015, builds on the success that California has achieved in expanding coverage, transforming care, and improving health outcomes since the implementation of the ACA. Medi-Cal 2020 includes $6.2 billion in federal funds over five years, including:

May 5, 2016

Big Tobacco had a very bad day yesterday, with Governor Brown signing all but one of a tobacco regulation package into law and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)steeping up to regulate all tobacco products.

April 22, 2016

This week the legislature heard several bills on the siting of facilities for psychiatric patients and those struggling with substance use disorders. Each bill approached the issue of siting in a different way, but CSAC is opposed to all of them for the same reason: These facilities provide a critical health care service in the mental health and substance use disorder continuum of care.

The bills CSAC is opposing on sober living homes are described below:

April 8, 2016

Local behavioral health clinics could get a much needed financial boost under AB 847, which was sent to the Governor on March 28. The bill is intended to improve mental health services furnished by certified community behavioral health clinics to Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

March 31, 2016

Every year, bills are introduced that cause concern for counties. Bills that propose new duties or costs, are costly or downright impossible to implement, could have unintended fiscal consequences for critical services, are duplicative of current law or responsibilities, or, despite the best of intentions, could ultimately negatively affect  the people counties serve, always make it across the desk.

March 31, 2016

CSAC supports the concept of allowing counties to work together to implement Laura’s Law/Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs. AB 1764 was introduced by Assembly Member Waldron to allow counties already participating in or thinking of creating a Laura’s Law pilot program to offer, or to contract with each other to offer, assisted outpatient treatment services.

March 11, 2016

Assembly Members Richard Bloom and Jim Wood have introduced a “Health Impact Fee” on sodas and other sugary beverages earlier this week. The bill, which is not yet in print (AB 2782), would impose a two-cent fee on each ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages to raise an estimated $2 billion annually. The fee would be charged at the distributor level.

March 11, 2016

The CSAC Health and Human Services Policy Committee voted to support three of the tobacco regulation bills being heard in the Special Session on Health Care. On a forth bill, the committee voted to support is amended. As a package, the bills are intended to lower the rates of smoking in California. California has a rich history of tobacco control, which has helped to reduce the rates of smoking-related diseases, as well as the costs of both. The bills that CSAC now supports are described below: