BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 664


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          Date of Hearing:  April 29, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          664 (Dodd) - As Introduced February 24, 2015


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          |Policy       |Health                         |Vote:|17 - 0       |
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          |             |Aging and Long Term Care       |     |7 - 0        |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires a formal  evaluation of a currently  
          authorized Medi-Cal pilot project that is testing a "universal  
          assessment tool" for standardized assessment of an individual's  
          needs for long-term supports and services. 








                                                                     AB 664


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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to the  
          Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) (50% GF/50% federal).


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. California has an array of programs and services for  
            individuals who are aged or disabled.  The programs are  
            located in multiple agencies, use different delivery systems  
            and challenge consumers seeking to access services. Universal  
            assessment offers a single uniform process to connect services  
            and corresponding data elements about service needs and  
            preferences, while evaluating an individual consumer's needs  
            in a consistent manner.  This bill implements a recent  
            recommendation of the Legislative Analyst's Office to require  
            a formal evaluation of a current pilot related to universal  
            assessment. 


          2)Background.  In 2012, the Legislature recognized that  
            competing eligibility determination and assessment processes  
            create several forms of inefficiency in the administration of  
            these programs, which include In-Home Supportive Services,  
            Community-Based Adult Services, and Multipurpose Senior  
            Services Program services.  The Universal Assessment Tool  
            (UAT) was identified as an alternative to the current  
            assessment system.  A UAT is a single application and data  
            system that would streamline eligibility determinations and  
            assessments.  The intention is to shift the existing home and  
            community-based services framework from a "program-based"  
            approach to a "person-centered" approach.  










                                                                     AB 664


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          3)Prior Legislation. SB 1036 (Chapter 45, Statues of 2012) a  
            trailer bill of the Budget Act of 2012, related to Human  
            Services, required the development and implementation of a UAT  
            pilot. 



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