SB 1054 (Steinberg) – Support
Chapter 436, Statutes of 2014
SB 1054, by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg,
extends a working group deadline for improving the collection of
juvenile justice data and makes several adjustments to the
structure the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grants
program – such as shortening the grant terms from four to three
years — which was renewed in the 2014-15 budget.
CSAC supports SB 1054, which Governor Brown signed into law on
September 18.
DHCS Director Toby Douglas Stepping Down from Office
Today Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley announced
that Toby Douglas will step down as Director of the Department of
Health Care Services by the end of the year. Mr. Douglas was
appointed in early 2011 and has served in various leadership
positions with DHCS since 2005.
AB 2547 (Gaines) – Support
Chapter 272, Statutes of 2014
The Governor signed AB 2547, by Assembly Member Beth Gaines, into
law on August 22, 2014. AB 2547 allows Placer County to continue
to operate their successful integrated, coordinated, and seamless
approach to health and human services delivery in the
County.
SB 878 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) – No position
As Amended on August 27, 2014
SB 878 is a budget trailer bill that makes a number of changes to
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider enrollment and
orientation. Specific provisions include:
AB 1733 (Quirk-Silva, Maienschein, Atkins) – Support Enrolled on
August 27, 2014
AB 1733, by Assembly Members Sharon Quirk-Silva, Brian
Maienschein and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, allows a fee waiver
for a homeless person to obtain a certified certificate of live
birth from the county registrar or recorder or an identification
card from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
AB 2546 (Salas) – Support Enrolled on August 21, 2014
AB 2546, by Assembly Member Rudy Salas, authorizes and provides a
statutory framework for Kern County to form the Kern County
Hospital Authority. The Hospital Authority positions Kern to
evolve with the changing health care landscape and innovate to
better serve its low-income residents. CSAC supports AB 2546,
which is enrolled and awaits the Governor’s action.
AB 39 (Skinner) – Concerns
As Amended on August 20, 2014
AB 2228 (Cooley) – Support Enrolled on August 26,
2014
AB 2228, by Assembly Member Ken Cooley, would require crisis
nurseries to be licensed by the State Department of Social
Services to operate overnight programs and would authorize crisis
nurseries to provide crisis day services. AB 2228 would also
establish the maximum licensed capacity for a crisis residential
overnight program at 14 children and establish that the maximum
licensed capacity for crisis day services is based on 35 square
feet of activity space per child.
SB 1054 (Steinberg) – Support Enrolled on August 21,
2014
SB 1054, by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, as
now drafted, would extend a working group deadline for improving
the collection of juvenile justice data as well as make several
adjustments to the structure the Mentally Ill Offender Crime
Reduction Grants program – such as shortening the grant terms
from four to three years — which was renewed in the 2014-15
budget.
SB 1054 is enrolled and awaits the Governor’s action.
SB 508 (Hernandez) – Support Enrolled on August 26, 2014
SB 508, by Senator Ed Hernandez, would make 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).
AB 2547 (Gaines) – Support Chapter 272, Statutes of 2014
The Governor signed AB 2547, by Assembly Member Beth Gaines, into
law on August 22, 2014. AB 2547 allows Placer County to continue
to operate their successful integrated, coordinated, and seamless
approach to health and human services delivery in the
County.
Covered California Plans to Offer Expanded Children’s Dental
Services and New Coverage for Adults in 2015
In 2015, Covered California will include pediatric dental
benefits for members younger than 19 with an individual health
plan. In addition to the pediatric dental benefits, Covered
California will also offer new family dental plans to consumers
who enroll in health coverage in 2015.
AB 2311 (Bradford) – Oppose
As Amended on May 23, 2014
AB 2311, by Assembly Member Steven Bradford, would alter
locally-established General Assistance (GA) eligibility to allow
honorably discharged veterans to receive GA benefits for a longer
period of time.
CSAC Institute Course 331 – Health Care Reform and California
Counties
Friday, September 19, 2014 – 10:00 am to 3:30 pm
Registration is now open for our upcoming CSAC Institute Course,
entitled Health Care Reform and California Counties. Join us as
our panels of experts discuss how federal health care reform is
being implemented in California and its affect on county health,
mental health, substance use disorder treatment, social services
and public safety programs and clients.
AB 2311 (Bradford) – Oppose
As Amended on May 23, 2014
AB 2311, by Assembly Member Steven Bradford, would alter
locally-established General Assistance (GA) eligibility to allow
honorably discharged veterans to receive GA benefits for a longer
period of time.
State Releases Draft Substance Use Disorder Waiver Terms
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released a draft of
the proposed Special Terms and Conditions (STCs) for a substance
use disorder wavier it is seeking from the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 16. This is part of the
state’s efforts to create a more organized delivery system within
the Drug Medi-Cal program, and it would amend California’s
current Section 1115 “Bridge to Reform” Waiver.
SB 508 (Hernandez) – Support
As Amended June 5, 2014
SB 508, by Senator Ed Hernandez, would make 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).
AB 2311 (Bradford) – Oppose
As Amended on May 23, 2014
AB 2311, by Assembly Member Steven Bradford, would alter
locally-established General Assistance (GA) eligibility to allow
honorably discharged veterans to receive GA benefits for a longer
period of time.
AB 2311 (Bradford) – Oppose
As Amended on May 23, 2014
AB 2311, by Assembly Member Steven Bradford, would alter
locally-established General Assistance (GA) eligibility to allow
honorably discharged veterans to receive GA benefits for a longer
period of time.
The Conference Committee met yesterday and closed out the
remaining health and human services issues before shutting down.
The spending proposals from both houses were scaled back in many
cases, as compromise items typically reflected the Governor’s
budget or May Revision. Highlights of HHS and other policy
actions taken by the Conference Committee can be found here.
The joint Budget Conference Committee commenced hearing health
and human services issues on Monday, June 2. All human services
items were held open. The majority of the health items were also
held open; however the Conference Committee took the following
actions on four items:
Medi-Cal Mandatory Expansion – The Committee adopted the
Assembly’s proposal to reduce the Governor proposed estimates of
Medi-Cal costs for 2014-15 by $342 million, based on the LAO’s
refined estimate.
The Assembly Budget Committee conducted its final business on
Wednesday, May 28 – adopting the subcommittee reports. The
Assembly adopted a number of health and human services items of
interest to counties. Please note that Dr. Shirley Weber, Chair
of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human
Services, is a member of the Budget Conference Committee this
year. Highlights of the Assembly actions include:
This week, the Senate and Assembly met to hear May Revise budget
proposals and to close out open issues. Senate Budget and Fiscal
Review Subcommittee No. 3 concluded their budget discussions on
Wednesday, May 21, while the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1
concluded today, Friday, May 23. The full Senate Budget and
Fiscal Review Committee also met today, Friday, May 23.
AB 2547 (Gaines) – Support
As Amended on May 15, 2014
AB 2547, by Assembly Member Beth Gaines, would allow Placer
County to continue to operate their successful integrated,
coordinated, and seamless approach to health and human services
delivery in the County for another five years.
SB 1150 (Hueso and Correa) – Support
As Amended on March 26, 2014
SB 1150 by Senators Ben Hueso and Lou Correa are would allow
federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health
Centers (RHCs) to be reimbursed by Medi-Cal for two visits by a
patient with a single or different health care professional on
the same day at a single location.
AB 1725 (Maienschein) – Oppose
As Amended on April 30, 2014
AB 1725, by Assembly Member Brian Maienschein, remains a concern
for counties as it will increase costs and workload levels and
hasten the erosion of county authority in conservatorship
investigations should this measure move forward.
AB 1725 (Maienschein) – Oppose
As Proposed to be Amended
AB 1725, by Assembly Member Brian Maienschein, was heard in the
Assembly Health Committee on April 22. Assembly Member
Maienschein shared proposed amendments with the committee, which
then passed the measure as proposed to be amended. It will be
amended next in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday,
April 29.
Legislature Targets Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
There are a number of bills moving through the California
Legislature this session that target the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children (CSEC). This issue had garnered an
increasing amount of state and national media attention,
prompting both houses of the Legislature to introduce measures to
increase penalties and assist child victims.
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.
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.
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).
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be in the spotlight next week
as the U.S. Supreme Court hears legal arguments on a variety of
fronts. The Court will listen to challenges to the ACA for six
hours over three days, March 26-28. It has been nearly 60 years
since the high court spent that much time to hear one case;
typically the court spends an hour hearing arguments. The case
has also attracted more briefs than any other in history (170+).
Today, the Women’s Foundation of California and the California
Budget Project released a joint
paper, Falling Behind: The Impact of the Great Recession
and the Budget Crisis on California’s Women and Their
Families. Major takeaways from the report include:
Single mothers were hardest hit by the recession and recent
budget cuts contributed to sharp increases in poverty.
There has been a lot of media attention this week focused
on Penn State – its administration and its football
program. Who knew what, and who told whom, and when. Of course,
lots of whys.
Perhaps instead of football coaches, the story that deserves to
be discussed – in fact, must be discussed – is the prevalence of
sexual abuse of children in the United States. Researchers
estimate 15-25 percent of girls and 5-15 percent of boys
are sexually abused in this country . Let me rephrase: as
many as 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys. Those figures are
astounding.
This week the federal government released a new “Supplemental
Poverty Measure.” It doesn’t replace the current calculation, but
it “provides us a different angle on who is in economic need,”
according to Rebecca Blank, U.S. Commerce Department
undersecretary for economic affairs.
The official poverty measure – developed nearly 50 years ago –
took one analyst’s guess at a family’s cost for food and
multiplied it by three. Simple, right? Maybe…too simple?
The CSAC Executive Committee met yesterday and engaged in lengthy
discussion about the 2011 realignment. The Committee focused its
discussion on the opportunity, path, and timing to secure a
constitutional amendment to afford counties protections. In
addition, the group discussed the fiscal structure for 2012-13
and beyond. Please recall that when the Legislature passed and
the Governor signed the budget, there was recognition that
additional work to refine the financing structure would take
place over the remainder of the legislative session.
After nearly a year of discussion and negotiation, the federal
government approved California’s five-year, Medicaid Section 1115
hospital financing waiver on Tuesday. Under California’s waiver,
now dubbed the “Bridge to Reform,” the state will receive
approximately $10 billion in federal funds over five years.
When the Governor used his blue pencil before signing the 2009-10
budget, he drew a line right through the future of foster
youth by vetoing $80 million and his proposed 2010-11 budget
continues the cut.
CSAC is part of a broad coalition – including foster youth,
foster parents, providers, labor, social workers, and welfare
directors – that is advocating to restore the child welfare
services budget.
The Senate heard the Governor’s ill-conceived trigger cut
proposals today in Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee
No. 3. After extensive public testimony, the Subcommittee voted
to reject the Governor’s proposals to completely eliminate
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), CalWORKs, and Transitional
Housing Program Plus (THP+) for former foster youth.
Before sharing a little data, I must recognize my CSAC colleague,
Lisa Currie, for her effective public testimony about her success
in moving from welfare to work.
