BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2051
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                  AB 2051 (Gonzalez) - As Amended:  April 29, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              HealthVote:19-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)  
          to process applications within 15 days of receiving an  
          application from an affiliate primary care clinic applying to be  
          a Medi-Cal provider, and deems applications approved on the 16th  
          day after receiving the application.    

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor costs for DHCS to identify and expedite affiliate primary  
          care clinic applications.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, legislation enacted several  
            years ago provides DPH must approve a clinic license within 30  
            days.  Unfortunately, the streamlined licensure process did  
            not specifically address the timelines by which the DHCS must  
            complete the affiliate clinic's enrollment into Medi-Cal.  The  
            author notes as a consequence, affiliate clinics are entitled  
            to receive their license, open their doors, and provide  
            services to patients within 30 days of submitting an  
            application to DPH, however, they often cannot get paid for  
            providing those services until their enrollment in Medi-Cal is  
            complete, which can several months.  

          2)Background  . Certain non-profit corporations that operate  
            multiple primary care clinics are entitled to use a  
            streamlined application process that allows qualifying primary  
            care clinics, known as affiliated primary care clinics, to  
            receive a DPH license within 30 days of submitting a completed  
            application.  This streamlined licensure process, in place as  








                                                                  AB 2051
                                                                  Page  2

            of 2011 pursuant to SB 442 (Ducheny), Chapter 502, Statutes of  
            2010, has eliminated unnecessary paperwork, eased  
            administrative burdens, and significantly sped up the  
            licensing process for these affiliated clinics. 

            Current law allows clinics to claim retroactive reimbursement  
            for services provided to Medi-Cal eligible beneficiaries  
            before the provider enrollment is complete.  Thus, this bill  
            does not increase net costs for Medi-Cal services.  However,  
            clinics may not have the resources to cover the cost of  
            several months of services while waiting for DHCS approval .   
            This bill will allow them to be reimbursed for services much  
            more quickly after opening their doors. 

           3)Staff Comment  .  The author may wish to clarify the bill is  
            relevant to enrollment as a Medi-Cal provider, not  
            certification as a Medi-Cal provider, to better reflect  
            intent.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081