BILL NUMBER: AB 1948	CHAPTERED  09/19/06

	CHAPTER  332
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 29, 2006
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 28, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 23, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 28, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 30, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Montanez
   (Coauthor: Senator Figueroa)

                        FEBRUARY 2, 2006

   An act to add Section 14011.75 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to child health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1948, Montanez  Medi-Cal program: Healthy Families Program:
Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) program.
   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.
    Existing law establishes the Healthy Families Program,
administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, to arrange
for the provision of health services to an eligible person.
   Existing law establishes the Child Health and Disability
Prevention (CHDP) program, administered by the department, to provide
early and periodic assessments of the health status of children.
   Under existing law, benefits under the Medi-Cal program provided
to an individual pursuant to a preliminary determination end, without
the necessity for any further review or determination by the
department, on or before the last day of the month following the
month in which the preliminary determination was made, unless an
application for medical assistance is filed on or before that date.
If an application for medical assistance is filed before this
deadline, preliminary benefits continue until the regular eligibility
determination based on the application has been completed.
   Existing law requires the department to develop an electronic
application to serve as the application for preenrollment into the
Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program and to also serve as
an application for the CHDP program.
   This bill would require the department to conduct, or contract for
the conducting of, a technological feasibility study report of
technological requirements for modifying the above electronic
application to allow a person applying on behalf of a child the
option to simultaneously preenroll and apply for enrollment in the
Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program over the Internet
without submitting a followup paper application. The bill would
require the results of the feasibility study report to be provided to
the fiscal and health policy committees of the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2008.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 14011.75 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
   14011.75.  (a) The department shall conduct, or contract for the
conducting of, a feasibility study report of technological
requirements for modifying the electronic application authorized
pursuant to Section 14011.7, known as the CHDP Gateway, to allow a
person applying on behalf of a child the option to simultaneously
preenroll and apply for enrollment in the Medi-Cal program or the
Healthy Families Program over the Internet without submitting a
followup paper application pursuant to the criteria set forth in
subdivision (c).
   (b) The results of the feasibility study report shall be provided
to the fiscal and health policy committees of the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2008.
   (c) (1) The modifications to the CHDP Gateway that shall be the
subject of the feasibility study report of technological requirements
under subdivision (a) shall allow an optional electronic application
for enrollment to be submitted at the time of applying for
preenrollment, so long as written consent to exercise the option is
obtained.
   (2) The optional electronic application developed for the purposes
of this section shall comply with all of the following:
   (A) Be the simplest permitted by federal law to achieve the
purposes of this section, except that nothing in this section shall
allow self-certification of income.
   (B) Be adequate to constitute an application for medical
assistance.
   (C) Request only the information that is necessary to provide the
child with continuing preliminary benefits within the meaning of
subdivision (b) of Section 14011.8 until a final eligibility
determination is made pursuant to the federal options described in
Section 1396r-1a or Section 1397ee(1)(D) of Title 42 of the United
States Code and to the extent federal financial participation is
allowed.
   (d) The department shall consult with representatives of
consumers, counties, and medical providers in developing the policies
and procedures for the modifications to the CHDP Gateway that shall
be the subject of the feasibility study report of technological
requirements under this section.