Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 26, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2589

Introduced by Assembly Member Gomez

February 19, 2016

An act to add Sections 123362 and 123363 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to begin delete lactation services. end delete begin insert public health. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2589, as amended, Gomez. begin delete Lactation end delete begin insert Public health: lactation end insert services and equipment.

Existing law provides for the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) administered by the State Department of Public Health and counties, under which nutrition and other assistance is provided to eligible low-income postpartum and lactating women, infants, and children under 5 years of age.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services, including breastfeeding services, are provided to qualified low-income persons. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to streamline and simplify existing Medi-Cal program procedures in order to improve access to lactation supports and breast pumps among Medi-Cal recipients.

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services begin insert and Covered California end insert to develop processes, procedures, and an electronic interface for eligibility-related information sharing to streamline enrollment into the WIC Program as part of the application process for Medi-Cal and health plans offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange. begin insert The bill would require the interface of the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS) to identify individuals who may be eligible for the WIC Program and, by certain dates, provide electronic access to program applications in a certain format, as specified. end insert The bill would begin insert also end insert require the State Department of Public Health to coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services, through a stakeholder engagement process, as specified, to develop measures and outcomes for breastfeeding rates, as specified. The bill would require the recommendations from the stakeholder engagement process to be posted on the departments’ Internet Web sites by January 1, 2018.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 123362 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

123362.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The State Department of Public Health shall
coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services begin insert and
Covered California end insert to develop processes, procedures, and an
electronic interface for eligibility-related information sharing to
streamline enrollment into the California Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as
the WIC Program, as part of the application process for Medi-Cal
and health plans offered through the California Health Benefit
Exchange established under Title 22 (commencing with Section
100500) of the Government Code.

begin insert

(b) On or before January 1, 2019, the California Healthcare
Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS)
developed under Section 15926 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code shall identify individuals who are potentially eligible for the
WIC Program and, if a potentially eligible individual wishes to
apply for the WIC Program, electronically link them to a WIC
Program application.

end insert begin insert

(c) On or before January 1, 2022, the California Healthcare
Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS)
developed under Section 15926 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code shall identify individuals who are potentially eligible for the
WIC Program and, if a potentially eligible individual wishes to
apply for the WIC Program and provides consent to share
confidential data with the WIC Program, provide a simple interface
for the individual to electronically complete a WIC Program
application without resubmitting data already known to the
CalHEERS system.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 123363 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:

123363.  

(a) The State Department of Public Health shall
coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services,
through a stakeholder engagement process that shall include, but
not be limited to, representatives from health care providers,
primary care clinics, and health plans, state and local staff from
the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC Program) and the Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Health program, and representatives from organizations
representing women, infants, and children, to, beginning prenatally
and continuing through the postpartum period and at least until
the infant reaches one year of age, develop measures and outcomes
for breastfeeding rates that do both of the following:

(1) Include, at a minimum, women’s intention to breastfeed,
breastfeeding initiation rates, and exclusivity and duration.

(2) Identify ethnic disparities and sociodemographic differences.

(b) The stakeholder process shall take no longer than six months
and the recommendations shall be posted on the departments’
Internet Web sites by January 1, 2018.