BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 505
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 8, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   AB 505 (Nazarian) - As Amended:  April 17, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              HealthVote:18-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)  
          to require all Medi-Cal managed care (MCMC) plans (MCPs) to  
          provide language assistance to limited-English-proficient (LEP)  
          enrollees, as specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor and absorbable costs to DHCS, as this bill essentially  
          codifies current practice.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  This bill is intended to codify language  
            assistance requirements in current contracts between DHCS and  
            MCPs, in order to strengthen these access standards.  The  
            author points out more than 40% of Californians speak a  
            language other than English at home, and an estimated six to  
            seven million people (one in five) are LEP, meaning they speak  
            English less than "very well."  

           2)Background  . For over a decade, DHCS has required MCPs to  
            provide language assistance to LEP members.  MCPs must provide  
            oral interpretation services, in all languages, on a 24 hour  
            basis.  Currently, by contract, translation services of  
            written documents, such as application for enrollment or  
            notice of benefits, must be provided when the LEP population  
            meets one of the numeric thresholds specified in this bill.   
            According to the author, the following languages meet the  
            current threshold required for translation services: Arabic,  
            Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Farsi, Hmong, Korean,  
            Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and, Vietnamese.   








                                                                  AB 505
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            The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), sponsor of  
            this bill, writes in support that currently, DHCS requires  
            MCPs to provide translated documents when a LEP population  
            makes up a certain percentage or a threshold of the enrollee  
            population.  MCPs will see an influx of LEP enrollees after  
            2014.  Over 1.42 million individuals from communities of color  
            will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal under the federal ACA,  
            over one-third will speak English less than very well.  CPEHN  
            argues the time is ripe to codify the State's decades-long  
            language assistance policies that have helped to provide  
            better access to health care for millions of LEP patients.   
            CPEHN further states this bill protects the rights of LEP  
            communities by codifying existing language assistance  
            requirements in the MCMC program.


           3)Related legislation  . AB 1263 (John A. P�rez) establishes the  
            Medi-Cal Patient Centered Communication (CommuniCal) program  
            at DHCS to provide and reimburse for certified medical  
            interpretation services to LEP Medi-Cal enrollees. AB 1263 is  
            pending on this committee's Suspense File.

           4)Previous legislation.  AB 2392 (John A. P�rez) of 2012 was  
            similar to this bill.  AB 2392 passed both houses of the  
            legislature but was not taken up for concurrence in the  
            Assembly.

            SB 853 (Escutia), Chapter 713, Statutes of 2003, requires the  
            Department of Managed Health Care and the California  
            Department of Insurance to adopt regulations to ensure  
            enrollees have access to language assistance in obtaining  
            health care services.
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debra Roth / APPR. / (916) 319-2081