BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1797| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1797 Author: Lackey (R) and Weber (D), et al. Amended: 8/1/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/14/16 AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: In-home supportive services: application SOURCE: Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations DIGEST: This bill requires the county, upon receipt of an application for in-home supportive services (IHSS), to provide the applicant a confirmation number, as specified. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the IHSS program to provide defined supportive services for aged, blind, or disabled persons who are unable to perform the tasks themselves and who cannot safely remain in their homes unless such services are provided. Those supportive services include, but are not limited to, domestic services, heavy cleaning, personal care services, and AB 1797 Page 2 accompaniment during travel to health-related appointments or to alternative resource sites, yard hazard abatement, protective supervision, and paramedical services, as defined. (WIC 12300 et seq.) 2)Provides that a recipient who is authorized to receive IHSS supportive services shall direct those authorized services, and the authorized services shall be performed by a provider or providers within a workweek and in a manner that complies with the requirements, as specified. (WIC 12300.4) 3)Establishes county authority to contract with a nonprofit consortium or a public authority for the delivery of IHSS supportive services. Requires those nonprofit consortia and public authorities to establish a registry in order to assist IHSS recipients with hiring providers, and to investigate the background and qualifications of potential providers, as specified. (WIC 12301.6) 4)Requires that the application for IHSS services shall contain a notice to the recipient that his or her provider or providers will be given written notice of the recipient's authorized services and full number of services hours allotted to the recipient. The application shall inform recipients of the Medi-Cal toll-free telephone fraud hotline and Internet Web site for reporting suspected fraud or abuse. (WIC 12301.15) This bill: 1)Requires that, upon receipt of an application for IHSS services, the county must provide the applicant a confirmation number to serve as documentation that the application was filed. 2)Permits the county to use the applicant's case number as the required confirmation number. Background According to the author, many IHSS applications that are filed telephonically have been getting lost in the system, and AB 1797 Page 3 applicants are not told how to best track their applications. The author states that AB 1797 provides that any person who needs in-home services to avoid being placed in a nursing home shall receive a confirmation number for the application when applying by phone. AB 1797 allows the counties to use the currently issued case number as a confirmation number. IHSS. The IHSS program, which is administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides in-home services for low-income aged, blind and disabled individuals who are unable to perform the tasks themselves and who cannot safely remain in their homes unless these services are provided. IHSS recipients need those services in order to avoid out-of-home care. IHSS services may include domestic and related services, like housework, meal preparation, laundry and shopping; personal care services; accompaniment to medical appointments; protective supervision for the mentally-impaired recipients who may place themselves at risk for injury; and hazard or accident and paramedical services when directed by a physician. Potential IHSS recipients must apply for IHSS services with the county in which they reside. Often, these applications are initiated over the phone, but they can be completed in person at a county IHSS office. Either way, county workers assist with completing the application and enter information directly into the Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS), which tracks case information and processes payments for IHSS. CMIPS generates a case number. After the initial application is completed, a county social worker conducts a home visit to determine the type of services needed and the number of hours for each service. The county considers medical condition, living arrangement, and any resources that may already be available. The applicant also must submit a Health Care Certification Form, which is completed by the applicant's doctor, and certifies the need for IHSS. This form must be completed before services can be authorized. Once approved, the county notifies the IHSS recipient which services have been approved, how much time is authorized for AB 1797 Page 4 each service, and how many total monthly hours have been approved. IHSS recipients are responsible for hiring, firing, directing and supervising their IHSS provider. These responsibilities include some administrative duties, such as scheduling and signing timesheets. However, the state handles payroll via CMIPS. Providers must complete an enrollment process, including submitting fingerprints for a criminal background screening and participating in an orientation prior to receiving payment for services. Approximately 464,000 Californians receive IHSS and about 99 percent of recipients receive IHSS as a Medicaid benefit. There are currently about 433,400 IHSS providers in the state. Approximately 69 percent are relatives and about 50 percent are live-in providers. Related/Prior Legislation AB 19 (Evans, Chapter 17, Statutes of 2009), a human services budget trailer bill, included a requirement that applications for IHSS shall provide written notice of the recipient's authorized services and full number of service hours allotted to the recipient, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified 8/2/16) Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (source) AARP Bet Tzedek Legal services California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform California Commission on Aging California Council of the Blind California In-Home Supportive Services Consumer Alliance Disability Rights California AB 1797 Page 5 Law Foundation of Silicon Valley Personal Assistance Services Council, the Los Angeles County Public Authority Senior and Disability Action The Arc & United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/2/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the sponsor, in order to receive the IHSS services an elderly, disabled or blind person must make an application for IHSS. Just about every county requires that the application be done telephonically. Sometimes, an application gets lost in the system. This has been a major issue for advocates representing IHSS recipients throughout the state for several years. ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524 8/3/16 18:54:23 AB 1797 Page 6 **** END ****