BILL NUMBER: SB 1469 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 15, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 13, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 26, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 9, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 30, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Cedillo
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Coto)
FEBRUARY 23, 2006
An act to add Section 14029.5 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to Medi-Cal eligibility.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1469, as amended, Cedillo Medi-Cal: eligibility: juvenile
offenders.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Services, and under
which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The
Medi-Cal program is governed, in part, by federal Medicaid
provisions.
Existing law places specified juvenile offenders in county
juvenile detention facilities.
This bill, commencing January 1, 2008, would require a county
juvenile detention facility to provide specified information relating
to a ward of the county who is scheduled to be released to the
appropriate county welfare department, and would require the county
to initiate an application and determine the individual's eligibility
for the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would require the
county, if the ward is a minor, to give a parent or guardian the
opportunity to opt out of this eligibility determination. The bill
would require a county welfare department to provide sufficient
documentation to enable the ward to receive medical care upon his or
her release from custody, as specified.
This bill would require the department, by June 1, 2007, in
consultation with designated entities, to collaborate
to establish the protocols and procedures necessary to
implement the bill. The bill would require the department to
implement its provisions by means of all-county letters or similar
instructions, and thereafter to adopt implementing regulations, as
necessary. The bill would require the department to seek any federal
waivers necessary for its implementation.
By increasing the duties of counties administering the Medi-Cal
program and of county juvenile detention facilities, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14029.5 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
14029.5. (a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2008, immediately
following the issuance of an order committing a ward of the county to
a juvenile hall, camp, or ranch for 30 days or longer, the county
juvenile detention facility shall provide the appropriate county
welfare department with the ward's name, his or her scheduled or
actual release date, any known information regarding the ward's
Medi-Cal status prior to disposition, and sufficient information,
when available, for the county welfare department to begin the
process of determining the ward's eligibility for benefits under this
chapter, including, if the ward is a minor, contact information for
the ward's parent or guardian, if available.
(2) If the ward is a minor, prior to providing information to the
county welfare department pursuant to paragraph (1), the county
juvenile detention facility shall notify the parent or guardian, in
writing, of its intention to submit the information required by that
paragraph to the county welfare department. The parent or guardian
shall be given a reasonable time to opt out of the Medi-Cal
eligibility determination provided for under this section, in which
case the county juvenile detention facility shall not comply with
paragraph (1).
(3) For purposes of this section, "ward" means a person in the
custody of a county juvenile detention facility.
(b) (1) Upon receipt of the information described in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a), and pursuant to the protocols and procedures
developed pursuant to subdivision (c) the county welfare department
shall initiate an application and determine the individual's
eligibility for benefits under the Medi-Cal program. The
If the ward is a minor, the county welfare
department shall promptly contact the parent or guardian to arrange
for completion of the application. The county shall expedite the
application of a ward who, according to the information provided
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), is scheduled to be
released in fewer than 45 days.
(2) If the county welfare department determines that the
individual ward does not meet the eligibility
requirements for the Medi-Cal program, the county welfare department
, with the consent of the ward's parent or guardian, if the ward
is a minor, shall forward the individual's
ward's information to the appropriate entity to determine
eligibility for the Healthy Families Program, or other appropriate
health coverage program, as determined by the department.
(3) If the county welfare department determines that a ward meets
eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal program, the county shall
provide sufficient documentation to enable the ward to obtain
necessary medical care upon his or her release from custody.
(c) By June 1, 2007, the department, in consultation with the
Chief Probation Officers of California and the County Welfare
Directors Association, shall collaborate to
establish the protocols and procedures necessary to implement this
section.
(d) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department shall implement this section by means of all-county
letters or similar instructions, without taking any further
regulatory action. Thereafter, the department shall adopt
regulations, as necessary, to implement this section in accordance
with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(e) The department shall seek any federal waivers necessary for
the implementation of this section.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.