BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 357
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 23, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 357 (Pan) - As Amended:  January 16, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Health Vote:17-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill shifts the Healthy Families Advisory Board from the  
          Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) to the Department  
          of Health Care Services (DHCS), and renames it the Children's  
          Health Advisory Board (advisory board).  It also:

          1)Requires DHCS to provide staff assistance to the advisory  
            board.

          2)Broadens the advisory board's responsibilities related to  
            children's health.  

          3)Changes who can appoint members to the advisory board. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor and absorbable costs to DHCS to continue providing staff  
          support to the advisory board (GF/federal funds). 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose .   This bill essentially cleans up code related to an  
            advisory board on children's health coverage.  MRMIB staff  
            indicates the advisory board has already transitioned to DHCS  
            effective this month, in order to reflect the 2013 shift of  
            nearly 900,000 children from Healthy Families to the Medi-Cal  
            program. The board had their first meeting within DHCS January  
            16, 2014.  The author believes it is important to update  
            statute in order to ensure the advisory board remains active  
            within DHCS. 

            Although MRMIB was not required by statute to provide staff  








                                                                  AB 357
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            support to the advisory board, they did so.  Currently, DHCS  
            provides staff support to the board. Thus, this bill appears  
            to largely align statute with current practice. In addition,  
            it provides the Governor and legislative leadership the  
            authority to appoint members to the advisory board.   
            Currently, the MRMIB board has this authority.

           2)Prior Legislation  . AB 1494 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 28,  
            Statutes of 2012 authorizes the transition of HFP enrollees to  
            Medi-Cal beginning January 1, 2013 and requires the California  
            Health and Human Services Agency to provide a strategic plan  
            that addresses the transfer of the Healthy Families Advisory  
            Board to DHCS.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081