BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2477
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2477 (Jones) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
Policy Committee: Health Vote:15-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill eliminates mid-year status reporting for children on
Medi-Cal to conform to requirements of the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148). The federal
health reform law requires California to maintain current
specified eligibility standards for children until September 30,
2019. Failure to comply with maintenance-of-effort (MOE)
requirements will likely result in the loss of major Medi-Cal
funding.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)An annual increase of $10 million (50% GF) to maintain 7,300
children on Medi-Cal who may otherwise lose coverage due to
failure to comply with a semi-annual reporting period.
The Governor's 2010-11 budget contains a proposal to move
children from a 12-month eligibility period to a six-month
eligibility period effective January 1, 2011. The savings
associated with this proposal implemented for a half-year are
$4.9 million (50% GF). The governor's budget proposal is
consistent with legislative actions taken in 2008, discussed
below.
2)The cost generated by this bill is eclipsed by the possible
loss of federal funding in the range of $25 billion if
California violates the federal MOE requirements for children
in effect through September 2019.
3)According to some quantitative analysis and advocates, annual
reporting may be cost-beneficial by providing continuous
coverage to children and reducing Medi-Cal administrative
AB 2477
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workload.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by the 100% Campaign and
supported by a wide variety of children's groups, providers,
and insurers. This bill increases the continuity of coverage
for children on Medi-Cal and allows California to continue to
draw billions of dollars in federal Medi-Cal support.
2)Recent Legislative Actions on Status Reporting for Children .
The frequency of status reporting for children on Medi-Cal has
been addressed several times in recent years. A semi-annual
status reporting period for children, effective until July
2012, was enacted in Assembly Bill 1183 (Committee on Budget)
Chapter 758, Statutes of 2008.
The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),
enacted in February 2009, established an MOE for eligibility
through December 2010 while an enhanced Federal Medical
Matching Percentage (FMAP) is available to states. SB 3X 24
(Alquist), Chapter 24, Statutes of 2009, restored annual
reporting for children in Medi-Cal to ensure the receipt of
$10 billion in enhanced FMAP.
3)Related Legislation . SB 711 (Alquist), pending in the Assembly
Health Committee, addresses annual status reporting for
children on Medi-Cal in order to conform to federal law
regarding a pending federal extension of the enhanced FMAP and
to ensure California qualifies for additional federal funding.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081