AB 357, as amended, Pan. Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel.
Existing law requires the state to implement and administer various child health and disease prevention programs. Existing law establishes the Healthy Families Advisory Board, a 15-member advisory panel appointed by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board. Existing law provides for the transition of children from the Healthy Families Program to Medi-Cal, including the transfer of the Healthy Families Advisory Board to the State Department of Health Care Services.
This bill would repeal the Healthy Families Advisory Board and instead rename and recast the board as the Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel, an independent, statewide advisory body composed ofbegin delete 19end deletebegin insert
15end insert members charged with advising the State Department of Health Care Services on matters relevant to all children enrolled in Medi-Cal and their families, as specified. The bill would require that panel members, except as otherwise specified, be appointed by the department. The bill would specify the powers and duties of the panel and the department in this regard and would require that the department submit, on or before January 1, 2018,begin delete and every 5 years thereafter,end delete a report to the Legislature on the advisory panel’s accomplishments, effectiveness, efficiency, and any recommendations forbegin delete improvingend deletebegin insert statutory changes needed to improveend insert the ability of the advisory panel to fulfill its
purpose.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) The health and well-being of California’s children should
4be among the state’s top priorities, and it is imperative that every
5child in California has meaningful health coverage with benefits
6that support healthy growth and development.
7(b) Children’s health coverage should encompass more than
8just treatment of diseases and illnesses, but also cover services and
9care to promote healthy development and well-being, identify and
10intervene in problems early on, and prevent chronic disease.
11(c) All children should receive care that meets recognized
12
standards of practice.
13(d) For the first time in history, the current generation of children
14is likely to be less healthy than their parents and live shorter lives.
15(e) The incidences and types of chronic disease in children have
16both increased and changed dramatically over the past four decades.
17One in five children has a mental health problem, and the number
18of overweight children has tripled for preschoolers and adolescents
19and quadrupled for children 6 to 11 years of age, inclusive.
20(f) In 2013, California moved over 750,000 children who had
21previously been enrolled in Healthy Families, California’s
22Children’s Health Insurance program, into Medi-Cal, California’s
23Medicaid program.
24(g) Medi-Cal now provides health coverage for roughly 5 million
25
children, approximately one-half of all California children.
P3 1(h) Children eligible for Medi-Cal, including children with
2chronic medical conditions and infectious diseases eligible for
3California Children’s Services, foster youth and former foster
4youth up to 26 years of age, and children from medically
5underserved ethnic and geographic populations, are often those
6who experience the greatest challenges in accessing a variety of
7the high-quality services they need.
8(i) In authorizing the Healthy Families transition, the Legislature
9authorized the transfer of the Healthy Families Advisory Panel to
10the State Department of Health Care Services, which oversees
11Medi-Cal.
12(j) The Healthy Families Advisory Panel was a 15-member
13panel of stakeholders, including parents of children enrolled in
14Healthy Families, that advised
the Managed Risk Medical
15Insurance Board on all policies, regulations, operations, and
16implementation of the Healthy Families Program since the
17program’s inception in 1998, made recommendations that helped
18improve the quality of care for children in Healthy Families, and
19served as an important venue for parents of enrollees, active
20providers, and other experts to discuss ways to improve the
21program.
22(k) The modern epidemics facing children today have lifelong
23consequences and present significant costs to the economy. The
24failure to ensure the health of our children enrolled in Medi-Cal
25may jeopardize their ability to function effectively as adults and
26for our state to remain strong and competitive in our global society.
27(l) Children enrolled in Medi-Cal and their families should
28benefit from the
Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel
29eventually adopting changes that would allow the panel to better
30function in its new environment at the State Department of Health
31Care Services and within the changing landscape of the Medi-Cal
32program and its stakeholder and advisory processes.
Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 12693.90) of
34Part 6.2 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code is repealed.
Section 14005.271 is added to the Welfare and
36Institutions Code, immediately following Section 14005.27, to
37read:
(a) The Healthy Families Advisory Board
39established by former Section 12693.90 of the Insurance Code is
40hereby renamed the Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel.
P4 1(b) The Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel shall be
2an independent, statewide advisory board that shall advise the State
3Department of Health Care Services on matters relevant to all
4children enrolled in Medi-Cal and their families, including, but
5not limited to, emerging trends in the care of children, quality
6measurements, communications between the State Department of
7Health Care Services and Medi-Cal families, provider network
8issues, and Medi-Cal enrollment issues.
9(c) The membership of the advisory
panel shall be composed
10of the followingbegin delete 19end deletebegin insert 15end insert members:
11(1) Three providers who currently participate in Medi-Cal,
12including each of the following:
13(A)
end delete14begin insert(1)end insert One member who is a licensed, practicing dentist.
15(B)
end delete
16begin insert(2)end insert One physician and surgeon who is board certified in the area
17of family practice medicine.
18(C)
end delete
19begin insert(3)end insert One physician and surgeon who is board certified in
20pediatrics.
21(2) Five representatives of provider organizations that currently
22participate in Medi-Cal, including each of the following:
23(A)
end delete
24begin insert(4)end insert One representative from a licensed nonprofit primary care
25clinic.
26(B)
end delete
27begin insert(5)end insert One representative from the mental health provider
28community.
29(C)
end delete
30begin insert(6)end insert One representative of the
substance abuse provider
31community.
32(D)
end delete
33begin insert(7)end insert One representative of the county public health provider
34community.
35(E)
end delete
36begin insert(8)end insert One representative from a licensed hospital that is on the
37disproportionate share list maintained by the State Department of
38Health Care Services.
39(3) (A) Five representatives of the Medi-Cal population, one
40of each of the
following:
P5 1(i)
end delete
2begin insert(9)end insert A current or former foster youth; an attorney, social worker,
3probation officer, or court appointed special advocate who currently
4represents one or more foster youth; a foster care service provider;
5or a child welfare advocate.
6(ii)
end delete
7begin insert(10)end insert A parent of a Medi-Cal enrollee who has received treatment
8services under the California Children’s Services Program within
9the past six months.
10(iii)
end delete
11begin insert(11)end insert A Medi-Cal enrollee who has received services under the
12Access for Infants and Mothers Program within the past six months.
13(iv)
end delete
14begin insert(12)end insert A parent or legal guardian of a Medi-Cal enrollee under
1521 years of age who has received mental health services under the
16Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program
17(EPSDT) within the past six months.
18(v) A parent or legal guardian of a Medi-Cal enrollee who has
19received services from the enrollee’s Medi-Cal dental managed
20care plan within the past year.
21(B) If a representative cannot be identified to meet the
22requirements of any clause in subparagraph (A), a parent or legal
23guardian of any Medi-Cal enrollee may be appointed to participate
24in lieu of the individual specified in that clause.
25(4) One representative appointed by the Senate Committee on
26Rules.
27(5) One representative appointed by the Speaker of the
28Assembly.
29(6) Four additional representatives, including each of the
30following:
31(A)
end delete32begin insert(13)end insert One representative from the health plan community.
33(B)
end delete34begin insert(14)end insert One representative from the business community.
35(C)
end delete36begin insert(15)end insert One representative from the education community.
37(D) One in-person assister currently certified to enroll
38individuals in Medi-Cal.
39(d) The advisory panel shall elect, from among its members, its
40chair.begin delete The chair shall be considered a member of the State begin insert
In order to coordinate the activities of the advisory
P6 1Department of Health Care Service’s Stakeholder Advisory
2Committee.end delete
3panel with other advisory bodies whose scope includes children
4enrolled in Medi-Cal, the chair shall keep apprised of relevant
5Medi-Cal stakeholder meetings by communicating with State
6Department of Health Care Services staff assisting the advisory
7panel.end insert
8(e) The advisory panel members, except as otherwise specified
9in paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (c), shall be appointed by
10the State Department of Health Care Services, or in the case of
11vacancies of three months or greater, by thebegin delete chair, except for begin insert chair.end insert
12vacancies for positions appointed pursuant to paragraphs (4) and
13(5) of subdivision (c).end delete
14(f) The advisory panel’s powers and duties include, but are not
15limited to,begin delete allend deletebegin insert bothend insert of the following:
16(1) To advise the Director of Health Care Services on all
17policies, regulations, and operations of the Medi-Cal program
18related to providing health care services to children.
19(2) To meet at least quarterly, unless deemed unnecessary by
20the chair.
21(g) The State Department of Health Care Services’ powers and
22duties shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
23(1) To provide general support and staff assistance to the
24advisory panel.
25(2) To convene and attend meetings of the advisory panelbegin insert at
26leastend insert quarterly, unless deemed unnecessary by the chair, at
27locations that are easily accessible to the public and advisory panel
28members, are of sufficient duration for presentation, discussion,
29and public comment on each agenda item, and are in accordance
30with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing
31with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
322 of the Government Code).
33(3) To consider all written recommendations of the advisory
34panel
and respond in writing to each written recommendation.
35(4)
end delete
36begin insert(3)end insert To reimburse the members of the advisory panel for all
37necessary travel expenses associated with the activities of the
38advisory panel, and to provide a stipend of one hundred dollars
39($100) per meeting attended to each panel member who is a
40Medi-Cal enrollee or a parent of a Medi-Cal enrollee.
P7 1(5)
end delete
2begin insert(4)end insert To maintain an Internet Web page on the
department’s
3Internet Web site dedicated to the advisory panel that shall include,
4but not be limited to, all of the following:
5(A) The purpose and scope of the advisory panel.
6(B) The current membership of the advisory panel.
7(C) A list of past and future meetings.
8(D) Agendas and other materials made available for past and
9future meetings.
10(E) Recommendations submitted to the department by the
11advisory panel.
12(F) The department’s responses to recommendations submitted
13by the advisory panel.
14(G) Contact information for department staff assisting the
15advisory
panel.
16(6)
end delete
17begin insert(5)end insert To inform advisory panel members when new information
18is posted to the Internet Web page dedicated to the advisory panel.
19(7)
end delete
20begin insert(6)end insert Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
21to submit on or before January 1, 2018,begin delete and every five years
a report to the Legislature on the advisory panel’s
22thereafter,end delete
23accomplishments, effectiveness, efficiency, and any
24recommendations forbegin delete improvingend deletebegin insert statutory changes needed to
25improveend insert the ability of the advisory panel to fulfill its purpose. The
26report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the
27Government Code.
28(h) The Legislature does not intend the addition of this section
29to result in a new panel, but rather a continuation of the prior panel
30established by former Section 12693.90 of the Insurance Code.
31New panel members shall not be appointed until a vacancy occurs.
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