BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1580|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1580
          Author:   Bonilla (D)
          Amended:  8/9/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  6-3, 6/6/12
          AYES:  Hernandez, Alquist, De León, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
          NOES:  Harman, Anderson, Blakeslee

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8
           
           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  47-24, 4/23/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Health care: eligibility: enrollment

           SOURCE  :     Western Center on Law and Poverty


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes technical and clarifying changes 
          to AB 1296 (Bonilla), Chapter 641, Statutes of 2011, the 
          Health Care Reform Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention 
          Planning Act (Act) relating to applications for state 
          health subsidy programs.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/9/12 conform state law to a 
          specific provision of federal regulations implementing the 
          Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that allows 
          people to apply to state health subsidy programs through 
          commonly available electronic means, instead of through 
          facsimile.  Existing state law requires that individuals be 
          provided the option to apply for state health subsidy 
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          programs (such as the Medi-Cal Program and tax subsidies 
          available through the California Health Benefit Exchange) 
          in person, by mail, online, by telephone, or by facsimile.  
          Federal regulations published in March 2012 to implement a 
          parallel federal requirement in the Act use the phrase 
          "through other commonly available electronic means" instead 
          of the word "facsimile."   These amendments make this 
          parallel change in state law.  

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:

          1.Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the 
            Department of Health Care Services, to provide health 
            care services and long-term care to pregnant women, 
            children, and people who are aged, blind, and disabled.

          2.Requires, under the Act, a single, accessible, 
            standardized paper, electronic, and telephone application 
            for state health subsidy programs to be developed by the 
            Department of Health Care Services in consultation with 
            the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and the 
            California Health Benefit Exchange board as part of a 
            stakeholder process. Requires the application to be used 
            by all entities authorized to make an eligibility 
            determination for any of the state health subsidy 
            programs and by their agents.

          3.Makes certain limited categories of individuals 
            presumptively eligible for Medi-Cal (children moving from 
            Healthy Families to Medi-Cal and vice versa, comatose or 
            amnesia patients arriving at a county health facility, 
            individuals requiring treatment for breast or cervical 
            cancer, and pregnant women), providing immediate and 
            temporary Medi-Cal coverage.

          4.Establishes, under the Act, requirements for the 
            application for state health subsidy programs, including 
            a requirement that an applicant be provided benefits in 
            accordance with the rules of the state health subsidy 
            program, as implemented in federal regulations and 
            guidance for which he or she otherwise qualifies until a 
            determination is made that he or she is not eligible and 
            all applicable notices have been provided.


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          This bill:

          1.Clarifies that nothing in a provision of the Act is to be 
            interpreted to grant presumptive eligibility if it is not 
            otherwise required by state law and if so required, then 
            only to the extent permitted by federal law. 

          2.Narrows a provision of the Act that requires an 
            individual screened as ineligible for Medi-Cal on the 
            basis of Modified Adjusted Gross Income but who may be 
            potentially eligible for Medi-Cal on another basis to 
            have his or her application forwarded to the Medi-Cal 
            program for an eligibility determination. Instead of this 
            requirement applying to individuals who are potentially 
            eligible on another basis, this bill limits the 
            requirement that the application be forwarded to only 
            those individuals who may be Medi-Cal-eligible on the 
            basis of being 65 years of age or older or on the basis 
            of blindness or disability.

          3.Makes other technical and clarifying changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/15/12)

          Western Center on Law & Poverty (source) 
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees, AFL-CIO 
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          Children Now
          Children's Defense Fund-California
          The Children's Partnership
          Health Access California
          National Health Law Program
          United Way of California

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    This bill is sponsored by Western 
          Center on Law & Poverty to fulfill the terms of an 
          agreement made with the California Health and Human 
          Services Agency staff to amend the language of AB 1296.  
          The first clarification relates to a provision of the bill 
          that states that an individual who is not eligible for 

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          Medi-Cal based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income but "who 
          may be potentially eligible for Medi-Cal on another basis 
          shall have his or her application or case forwarded to the 
          Medi-Cal program for an eligibility determination." The 
          agency staff expressed a concern that this could be a broad 
          group of people who would have to have a full Medi-Cal 
          determination.  The agency staff asked that the language 
          specify and limit these populations to individuals who may 
          be eligible on the basis of being age 65 or older or who 
          are blind or disabled.  The second change sought by the 
          agency staff was that the bill language be clarified that 
          one of its provisions does not grant presumptive Medi-Cal 
          eligibility to any new populations.  This bill contains 
          both of these changes.  


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 47-24, 04/23/12
          AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, 
            Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, 
            Chesbro, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, 
            Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, 
            Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, 
            Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, 
            Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, 
            Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, 
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Valadao, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Brownley, Charles Calderon, 
            Cedillo, Davis, Fletcher, Furutani, Nestande, Smyth


          CTW:n  8/15/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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