BILL ANALYSIS
AB 188
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 188 (Jones)
As Amended October 14, 2009
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 4, 2009) |SENATE: |28-9 |(October 14, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: BUDGET
SUMMARY : Appropriates funding to administer requirements
established by AB 1383 (Jones), Chapter 627, Statutes of 2009.
Establishes a quality assurance fee (QAF) on California
hospitals to leverage federal financial participation (FFP) and
to increase Medi-Cal payments to hospitals while federal
stimulus funding is available.
The Senate amendments delete the prior contents of the bill and
instead:
1)Appropriate $13.5 billion (special fund) from the Hospital
Quality Assurance Revenue Fund (HQARF) (established by AB
1383) to the California Department of Health Care Services
(DHCS) to increase Medi-Cal payments to hospitals until
January 1, 2013.
2)Appropriate $2 million (50% General Fund (GF)/50% federal)
from the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund to DHCS to support
administrative requirements of AB 1383. Requires $1 million GF
to be repaid from the HQARF if federal approval for the QAF is
granted.
3)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
FISCAL EFFECT :
1)A $13.5 billion (special fund) appropriation from the Hospital
Quality Assurance Revenue Fund to DHCS to increase Medi-Cal
payments to hospitals.
AB 188
Page 2
2)A $2 million (50% GF) appropriation from the Private Hospital
Supplemental Fund to support DHCS workload.
COMMENTS :
1)Rationale . This urgency bill contains appropriations to fund
workload and enable the payment of up to $2.3 billion (100%
federal) per federal fiscal year until 2013 to California
hospitals. The QAF established by the recently enacted AB
1383 will provide increased support to hospitals with no
state, patient, or taxpayer cost. This bill, together with AB
1383, maximizes funding opportunities generally available via
federal Medicaid QAF authority and while funding enhancement
(61.59% federal) is available under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
2)Signing Message . This bill addresses a portion of the
Governor's signing message of AB 1383. The signing message
indicates the lack of an appropriation in AB 1383 means DHCS
will have unfunded workload and that no steps will be taken to
implement that legislation until a subsequent appropriation is
passed by the Legislature. This bill establishes necessary
appropriations to enable workload and related expenditures.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
FN: 0003453