BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 492
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
492 (Liu)
As Amended June 25, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 29-7
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Health |17-2 |Bonta, Maienschein, |Patterson, Waldron |
| | |Bonilla, Burke, | |
| | |Chávez, Chiu, Gomez, | |
| | |Gonzalez, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Lackey, | |
| | |Nazarian, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Ridley-Thomas, | |
| | |Rodriguez, Santiago, | |
| | |Steinorth, Thurmond, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |15-1 |Gomez, Bigelow, |Gallagher |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
SB 492
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| | |Daly, Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
to develop, publish, and distribute an educational and
informational guide for consumers and patients regarding the
Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI), as specified. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Establishes the CCI Consumer and Patient Educational and
Informational Guide in existing law.
2)Requires DHCS to develop an educational and information guide
for consumers and patients on the CCI, as specified, and post
it on its Web site.
3)Requires the educational and informational guide to include
information about individuals who are dually eligible for
Medicare and Medi-Cal, and seniors and persons with
disabilities who are required to receive long-term services
and supports (LTSS) through a Medi-Cal managed care plan, as
specified. LTSS includes nursing facility services, home and
community-based services, home health services, and personal
care services.
4)Requires DHCS to distribute the educational and informational
guide to organizations throughout the state, as specified.
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5)Requires DHCS to make the educational and informational guide
easy to read and understand, and make available in a
culturally competent manner in all Medi-Cal threshold
languages.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, cost to DHCS is unlikely to exceed $150,000 (50%
General Fund, 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: 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. Participation by Orange
County is currently pending readiness reviews by DHCS. Although
initially approved to participate, the Medi-Cal manage care plan
in Alameda County opted to withdraw from the demonstration
project.
The author asserts that CCI consumers remain one of the most
vulnerable populations in California's health care system. The
author contends the recent implementation of CCI has generated
confusion among beneficiaries with regard to the enrollment
process and the rights they have under the program. The author
references a guide published by DHCS with a partial list of
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rights made available to only an estimated 34% of CCI
participants in the Cal MediConnect program, stating it is
incomplete and that a full list of rights should be made
available and distributed to all CCI consumers, including those
qualifying for Medi-Cal managed LTSS. The author concludes that
by requiring a consumer-friendly informational guide containing
specific information on services and resources for CCI
beneficiaries, this bill increases consumer awareness of the
CCI, and places an emphasis on serving individuals with truly
integrated care.
The Government Action and Communications Institute is in support
of this bill, stating DHCS currently provides a partial list of
rights to only Cal MediConnect CCI participants, and contends
that DHCS should be required to inform consumers of their
rights, given the extensive nature of the changes the CCI brings
to the health and social services of hundreds of thousands of
Californians. The American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME) supports this bill, maintaining
that improving quality of care for beneficiaries and maximizing
the ability of beneficiaries to remain safely in their homes and
communities with appropriate services can only be done if
Californians who receive health care services under CCI know and
understand their rights. The United Domestic Workers of America
- AFSCME Local 3930 / AFL-CIO also supports, writing that this
bill is needed to provide CCI consumers with a clear sense of
their rights and to improve access to programs and services.
The California Association of Health Plans opposes this bill,
stating it is unnecessary because DHCS currently publishes a
guide, the "Cal MediConnect Plan Guidebook," for CCI
beneficiaries and the development of a new guide is duplicative
of current efforts managed by the state.
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Analysis Prepared by:
An-Chi Tsou / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0001251