BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 492
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 492
(Liu) - As Amended June 25, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
to develop, publish, and distribute a specified educational and
informational guide for consumers and patients regarding the
Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI).
SB 492
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Cost to DHCS is unlikely to exceed $150,000 (50% GF, 50%
federal) for development of the informational guide,
translation, and printing and mailing costs.
The number of guides required to be produced and mailed, as well
as the size of the brochures, is indeterminate. The bill only
requires provision of an unspecified number of guides to
specified consumer advocacy groups, not to all beneficiaries.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill is intended to provide critical information
to Medi-Cal beneficiaries on the enrollment process, and the
rights they have under the CCI, an initiative which aims to
better integrate Medi-Cal, Medicare, and long-term care
services and supports.
2)Background. In July 2012, California enacted the CCI to better
serve the state's low-income seniors and persons with
disabilities by integrating the delivery of medical,
behavioral, and long-term care services, and providing
protocols to integrate Medicare and Medi-Cal for dually
eligible individuals. Existing law authorizes eight counties
to participate in the CCI, however there are currently only
six counties actively participating: Los Angeles, Riverside,
San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. DHCS
produces the "Cal MediConnect Health Plan Guidebook" for those
approximately 125,000 individuals enrolled in CalMediConnect,
which provides fully integrated Medi-Cal and Medicare
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benefits. However, there are hundreds of thousands more
individuals who are provided integrated long-term care
services and supports, and/or health care services through
managed care plans that do not appear to have access to a
specific guidebook.
3)Staff Comments. Some of the information required for the
guidebook is likely duplicative of existing information
produced by DHCS. Is this bill necessary?
Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081