BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOU CORREA, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: AB 1223
Author: Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee
Version: As amended August 24, 2011
Hearing Date: April 10, 2012
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Public Assistance Reporting Information Program (PARIS)
PROPOSED LAW
To implement the PARIS system to identify veterans on state
assistance that may be eligible for federal assistance.
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
1. The State of California has had many issues
managing its budget.
2. The Federal Department of Health and Human Services
runs a data matching program called PARIS. The
purpose of this data-matching is to identify
individuals who simultaneously collect public
assistance in multiple states. The primary focus of
PARIS is to remove duplication for those eligible for
other programs and Medicare, Supplemental Security
Income, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF).
3. In 2008, the passage of AB 1183 (Budget Committee)
established a two-year PARIS pilot project requiring
three counties to participate although the program
expanded beyond the three. The program is intended to
identify veterans enrolled in Medi-Cal who might be
eligible for United States Department of Veterans
Affairs (USDVA) health care benefits.
4. This bill would make the PARIS pilot project
permanent and expand its use statewide.
COMMENT
1. According to the author's office, "An analysis conducted
by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) in 2007 stated
that implementing PARIS could save the state millions of
dollars annually in General Fund costs by shifting eligible
veterans enrolled in Medi-Cal to the USDVA health care
system. According to the LAO report, 144,000 veterans and
dependents on Medi-Cal coverage could be eligible for
comprehensive medical care and health services through the
USDVA health care system. It is estimated that connecting
only ten percent of these veterans will save the state $25
million annually."
2. The benefit to the veteran is that if he or she is on
VA instead of Medi-Cal, when the veteran dies his or her
estate is not subject to cost recovery from VA.
3. This bill was made a 2-year bill because the Department
of Health Care Services was supposed to release the results
of the pilot study in November of 2012. As of now, the
report still has not been released.
SUPPORT
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
OPPOSE
Page 2
None received
Page 3