Bill Text: CA SB1161 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Drug Medi-Cal.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 486, Statutes of 2014. [SB1161 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB1161-Chaptered.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1161	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  486
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 28, 2014
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 27, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 22, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 29, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 10, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 2, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Beall
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Dababneh)

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   An act to add Section 14124.29 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to Medi-Cal.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1161, Beall. Drug 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 patients in
an institution for mental diseases (IMD). 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 for Medi-Cal recipients, or is
required to directly arrange for these services if a county elects
not to do so.
   This bill would require the department, if the department seeks a
specified waiver to implement Drug Medi-Cal, to pursue federal
approvals to address the need for greater capacity in both short-term
residential treatment facilities and hospital settings for
short-term voluntary inpatient detoxification.


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 (PPACA)
(Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), offers
previously uninsured Californians unprecedented access to health
services, including mental health and substance use disorder
services.
   (2) In 2013, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1 and Senate
Bill 1 in the 2013-14 First Extraordinary Session, which expanded
Medi-Cal coverage to low-income adults with incomes at or below 138
percent of the federal poverty level who were not previously
eligible, established the Medi-Cal benefit package for this expansion
population, and required the Medi-Cal program to cover additional
mental health and substance use disorder services.
   (3) An estimated 1.2 million people enrolled in the Medi-Cal
program have substance use treatment needs.
   (4) Substance use disorder treatment often requires medical
detoxification and residential treatment services, services that have
been included in California's Medi-Cal expansion under PPACA.
   (5) The federal exclusion for institutions for mental diseases
(IMD) only permits residential care for substance use disorder in
facilities with 16 beds or fewer and medical detoxification only in a
general acute care hospital, making both services inaccessible to
Medi-Cal and Drug Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
   (6) Capacity for both medical detoxification and residential
treatment is severely limited in California in settings in compliance
with the federal exclusion for IMD.
   (7) According to a letter from the Director of Health Care
Services to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
only 21 percent of California's beds are in facilities with a
capacity of 16 and under. Furthermore, other than 11 perinatal
programs, there are no Drug Medi-Cal licensed residential substance
use disorder facilities in California. Therefore, California is
severely limited in providing the expanded substance use disorder
residential treatment benefits as provided for by the Medi-Cal
expansion.
   (8) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts successfully included IMD
expenditure authority in its Section 1115 waiver. California has a
similar need for IMD expenditure authority.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to expeditiously expand
statewide capacity for mental health and substance use disorder
treatment services for all Californians eligible for health care
services under Medi-Cal who are in need of, or are currently seeking,
treatment.
  SEC. 2.  Section 14124.29 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   14124.29.  (a) If the department seeks a waiver pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 14021.35, the department shall pursue
federal approvals to address the need for greater capacity in both
short-term residential treatment facilities and hospital settings for
short-term voluntary inpatient detoxification, including, but not
limited to, licensed chemical dependency recovery hospitals.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
authority of the department pursuant to Section 14021.35.
   (c) This section shall be implemented only to the extent federal
approvals are obtained and to the extent that federal financial
participation is available.