BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 678 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 678 (Pan) - As Amended: March 25, 2011 Policy Committee: HealthVote:18-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill establishes a supplemental payment program that allows local governmental entities who provide emergency medical transportation services to Medi-Cal enrollees to leverage federal funding for this purpose. The bill requires the Department of Health Care Services to seek federal approval for the program and stipulates that DHCS administrative costs are reimbursed by the program, and prohibits General Fund expenditures. FISCAL EFFECT Ongoing DHCS administrative costs of approximately $300,000 (50% General Fund, 50% federal funds) would be reimbursed by the local entities who participate in the program. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . According to the bill's sponsor, California Professional Firefighters, Medi-Cal reimbursement for emergency ground transportation is far less than the cost of such transport. This bill would allow local governmental entities that choose to participate in the program to leverage federal financial participation (FFP) for costs that exceed their Medi-Cal reimbursement. 2)CPEs Used To Leverage Federal Funding . This bill would allow participating entities to use local Certified Public Expenditures (CPEs) as the state share of cost to draw down FFP. CPEs are a mechanism used by many public entities in California, including public hospitals, to leverage federal funding. In this program, local governmental expenditures on AB 678 Page 2 emergency ground transport for Medi-Cal patients that exceed Medi-Cal reimbursements would be certified by the local entity and verified by the state DHCS as eligible for federal reimbursement. At the state's current 50% federal matching rate, this program would essentially allow participating entities to recoup half of their costs that exceed their Medi-Cal reimbursement. This bill is modeled on a current successful program established by AB 915 (Frommer), Chapter 747, Statutes of 2002 authorizing local public agencies and public health facilities to use local funds to obtain FFP for supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursements for hospital outpatient services. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081