BILL NUMBER: AB 2645	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 21, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chesbro

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 5912 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to mental health  , and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately  .


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2645, as amended, Chesbro. Mental health: skilled nursing
facilities: reimbursement rate.
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health
facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, by the State
Department of Public Health. Existing law requires the State
Department of Health Care Services to contract with skilled nursing
facilities that have been designated by the State Department of
Mental Health as institutions for mental disease to provide services
to the residents. Under existing law, as  log  
long  as contracts require institutions for mental disease to
continue to be licensed as skilled nursing facilities, they shall be
reimbursed at a specified rate, subject to an annual increase of 4.7
percent.
   This bill would,  on and after   from 
July 1, 2010,  to June 30, 2012,   inclusive,  set
the reimbursement rate for services in institutions for mental
disease  licensed and certified as skilled nursing facilities
 at the same rate as was in effect on July 1, 2009. 
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute. 
   Vote:  majority   2/3  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 5912 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   5912.  (a) As long as contracts require institutions for mental
disease to continue to be licensed and certified as skilled nursing
facilities by the State Department of Public Health, they shall be
reimbursed for basic services at the rate established by the State
Department of Health Care Services. Except as provided in this
section, reimbursement rates for services in institutions for mental
disease shall be the same as the rates in effect on July 31, 2004.
Effective July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2008, the reimbursement rate
for institutions for mental disease shall increase by 6.5 percent
annually. Effective July 1, 2008, the reimbursement rate for
institutions for mental disease shall increase by 4.7 percent
annually.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a),  on and after
  from  July 1, 2010,  to June 30, 2012,
inclusive,  the reimbursement rate for services in institutions
for mental disease  that are licensed and certified as skilled
nursing facilities  shall be the same as the rates in effect on
July 1, 2009.
   SEC. 2.    This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
 
   In order for counties to begin using their limited mental health
realignment funds to provide community-based care to indigent
residents in need, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.