BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 804
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|AUTHOR: |Committee on Health |
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|VERSION: |March 26, 2015 |
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|HEARING DATE: |April 29, 2015 | | |
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|CONSULTANT: |Juan Reyes |
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SUBJECT : Health
SUMMARY : Updates obsolete references to county mental health directors
and county drug and alcohol program administrators to instead
reference county behavioral health directors and/or the County
Behavioral Health Directors Association. Requires the Department
of Health Care Services to report to the Legislature with
quarterly updates on caseload, estimated expenditures, and
related program monitoring data for the Every Woman Counts
Program. Deletes additional references to non-profit hospital
service plans not included in last year's committee bill.
Technical clean-up to ensure individuals that can prove their
homeless status are not subject to any fee when requesting a
certified record of live birth. Extends indefinitely the sunset
date of the California Office of Health Information Integrity.
Existing law:
1.Regulates provision of programs and services relating to
mental health and alcohol and drug abuse at the state and
local levels.
2.Requires the State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS),
no later than January 10 and concurrently with the May
Revision of the annual budget, to provide the fiscal
committees of the Legislature with an estimate package for the
Every Woman Counts (EWC) Program for early detection of breast
and cervical cancer.
3.Establishes the State Department of Public Health (DPH) and
sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited
to, duties as State Registrar relating to the uniform
administration of provisions relating to vital records and
health statistics.
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4.Requires, on or after July 1, 2015, each local registrar or
county recorder to issue, without a fee, a certified record of
live birth to any person who can verify his or her status as a
homeless person or a homeless child or youth, as defined.
5.Permits the Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII)
to assume statewide leadership, coordination, policy
formulation, direction, and oversight responsibilities for
HIPAA implementation, and exercises full authority relative to
state entities to establish policy, provide direction to state
entities, monitor progress, and report on implementation
efforts.
6.Repeals CalOHII on June 30, 2016.
This bill:
1.Replaces obsolete references relevant in existing law to the
California Mental Health Directors Association (CMHDA) and the
County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators' Association of
California (CADPAAC) to instead reference the County
Behavioral Health Directors' Association of California
(CBHDAC) to reflect the merging of the two organizations.
2.Replaces references to county mental health directors and
county alcohol and drug program administrators to instead
reference the county behavioral health directors.
3.Requires DHCS to provide the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature with quarterly updates on
caseload, estimated expenditures, and related program
monitoring data for the EWC program.
4.Clarifies that a person can verify his or her status as a
homeless person or a homeless child or youth, in addition to
verification provided by a homeless services provider, is to
be issued a certified record of live birth, as specified,
without an issuance fee or any other associated fee.
5.Deletes sunset date for CalOHII.
6.Deletes obsolete references to nonprofit hospital service
plans in three provisions of Medi-Cal law.
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FISCAL
EFFECT : This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. According to the author, this bill makes
a number of technical and clarifying changes to existing law
and other substantive changes:
Last year, the Legislature decided, unanimously, to assist
individuals enduring difficult times in their efforts to get
back on their feet by not subjecting homeless persons or
homeless youth to a fee when requesting a certified record of
live birth. Nearly every government program or social service,
programs that these individuals so desperately need, require
some form of identification, including a birth certificate.
This bill will further clarify that homeless individuals are
not subject to any surprise fees as they seek the
documentation needed to access social services programs.
This bill will also extend the sunset date of the California
Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII) indefinitely.
CalOHII has focused on making confidential health information
available in the most secure ways and the sunset date has
continued to be extended. At a time when confidentiality,
particularly of personal health information, is paramount, the
work done by CalOHII will be needed in the immediate and
distant future.
2.County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.
As of 2004, California administered its alcohol, drug and
mental health programs in two separate agencies, the
now-defunct Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) and
the Department of Mental Health (DMH). The California
Performance Review published in its 2004 report a set of
recommendations for developing a more efficient and effective
government. One of the recommendations included consolidating
the management of the behavioral health programs to improve
coordination of county administered services to persons
suffering from both mental illness and substance use
disorders. Ultimately, ADP was folded into DHCS and some
functions of DMH were also folded into DHCS while others were
incorporated into the newly formed Department of State
Hospitals. Similarly, on July 1, 2014 the CMHDA and the
CADPAAC became the CBHDAC to also reflect the need to
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integrate mental health and drug and alcohol use services.
3.Every Woman Counts Program. According to the DHCS website,
the EWC program provides free clinical breast exams,
mammograms, pelvic exams, and Pap tests to California's
underserved women. The mission of EWC is to save lives by
preventing and reducing the devastating effects of cancer for
Californians through education, early detection, diagnosis and
treatment, and inte
grated preventive services, with special emphasis on the
underserved. In 2010, DPH was required to provide the fiscal
committees of the Legislature detailed estimate packages in
the Governor's January and May budget proposals each year for
the EWC progra4.m. DPH was also required to provide the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature
with quarterly reports that include all expenditure data
available for this program. In 2012, the EWC program was
transferred from DPH to DHCS. With the passage of AB 82
(Committee on Budget), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2013, DHCS is
now required to provide the fiscal committees with similar
estimate packages that were once provided by DPH. This bill
will require DHCS to provide the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees with the quarterly updates for the EWC program that
were once provided by DPH.
5.Vital records. The base fee for a copy of a birth certificate
was $12 and counties were allowed to raise the fee to cover
the costs of modernizing vital record operations and improving
the collection and analysis of health related birth and death
certificate information (costs ranged on average from $23 to
$28.) With the enactment of AB 1733 (Quirk-Silva et al.),
Chapter 764, Statutes of 2014, beginning on or after July 1,
2015, local registrars or county recorders will be required to
issue a birth certificate without a fee to homeless persons.
During a teleconference convened by DPH, which consultants of
this committee joined, concerns of language ambiguity were
raised about the reference to "a fee." The intent of AB 1733
was clear that no individual, who can prove his or her
homeless status, is subject to a fee for requesting a birth
certificate. The sponsors of AB 1733 are concerned that, as
drafted, a "search fee," separate from an "issuance fee" could
be charged. This bill will clarify that a birth certificate
will be provided, upon verification of housing status without
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any fee to a homeless person or youth.
6.Prior legislation. SB 1465 (Committee on Health), Chapter 442,
Statutes of 2014, among other provisions, deleted obsolete
references to nonprofit hospital service plans in two
provisions of Medi-Cal law.
AB 1733 (Quirk-Silva, Atkins, and Maienschein), Chapter 764,
Statutes of 2014, requires each local registrar or county
recorder, without a fee, to issue a certified record of live
birth to any person who can verify his or her status as a
homeless person or a homeless child or youth and a homeless
services provider that has knowledge of a person's housing
status shall verify a person's status for the purposes of
exemption from a fee. This bill also requires the Department
of Public Health to develop an affidavit attesting to an
applicant's status as a homeless person or homeless child or
youth and that the affidavit is not complete until signed by
both the person making the request for the record and the
homeless services provider with knowledge of the person's
housing status.
AB 82 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2013,
requires DHCS, no later than January 10 and concurrently with
the release of the May Revision, to provide the fiscal
committees of the Legislature with an estimate package for the
Every Woman Counts Program.
AB 1467 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2012,
extended the sunset on the Office of Health Information and
Integrity (CalOHI) to June 30, 2016. This bill also
transferred the Every Woman Counts Program, the Prostate
Cancer Treatment Program, and the Family Planning Access Care
and Treatment Program from the Department of Public Health to
the DHCS.
SB 853 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 717,
Statutes of 2010, required DPH to include detailed estimate
packages in the Governor's January and May budget proposals
each year for the Women Infant and Children (WIC) Program,
Licensing and Certification Program, and the Every Woman
Counts Program. This bill also required DPH to provide the
appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature
with quarterly reports that include all expenditure data
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available for this program.
7.Support. The California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
states in support that the merging of the organizations CMHDA
and CADPAAC is a reflection of the integration of the mental
health and substance use disorder agencies at the county level
and general understanding that these areas are often
interdependent of each other and the people they serve.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: California State Association of Counties
County Behavioral Health Directors Association of
California
Housing California
Oppose: None received.
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