BILL NUMBER: SB 1147	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 19, 2008
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 9, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Calderon and Yee

                        FEBRUARY 4, 2008

   An act to amend Section 14029.5 of, and to add Section 14011.95
to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1147, as amended, Calderon. Medi-Cal: eligibility: juvenile
offenders.
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and
under which qualified low-income persons receive health care
benefits. The Medi-Cal program is governed, in part, by federal
Medicaid provisions.
   This bill would specify that inmate status shall not be used to
terminate the eligibility of a child under the Medi-Cal program, and
would require the department to establish the protocols and
procedures necessary to ensure that Medi-Cal eligibility is not
terminated in violation of that requirement.
   Existing law requires a county juvenile detention facility to
provide specified information relating to a ward of the county who is
scheduled to be released to the appropriate county welfare
department, and requires the county to initiate an application and
determine the individual's eligibility for the Medi-Cal program.
Existing law also requires a county juvenile detention facility,
prior to providing the information to the county welfare department,
to notify the parent or guardian of a ward who is a minor of its
intention to submit the information. Existing law requires the parent
or guardian be given a reasonable time to opt out of the Medi-Cal
determination.
   This bill would require, no later than July 1, 2009, the
department, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to develop a
model notification letter for use by the juvenile detention
facilities to notify a parent or guardian of a ward who is a minor of
its intent to submit the information described above, and would
limit the requirement that a county welfare department initiate an
application for any ward to, instead, apply to any ward not already
enrolled in the Medi-Cal program. This bill would also provide that
if the minor's parent or guardian fails to cooperate in completing
the application, the county shall deny the application in accordance
with due process requirements.
   The bill would further require the department, no later than
January 1, 2010, and after the development and dissemination of the
model notification letter described above, to convene a workgroup
comprised of specified members to review the implementation of these
provisions and, if appropriate, to make specified recommendations, as
provided.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 14011.95 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
   14011.95.  (a) For purposes of this section, "child" means any
 individual who meets the definition of "child" contained in
Section 50030 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
  individual under 21 years of age. 
   (b) Inmate status shall not be used to terminate the eligibility
of a child under the Medi-Cal program.
   (c) Commencing January 1, 2009, the department, in consultation
with the Chief Probation Officers of California and the County
Welfare Directors Association, shall establish the protocols and
procedures necessary to ensure both of the following:
   (1) Medi-Cal eligibility is not terminated in violation of this
section.
   (2) Claims for Medicaid-covered health care services pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 14053 are made only when
federal financial participation is available.
   (d) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department shall implement this section by means of all-county
letters or similar instructions, without taking any further
regulatory action. Thereafter, but no later than January 1, 2011, the
department shall adopt regulations, as necessary, to implement this
section in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 14029.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   14029.5.  (a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2008, immediately
following the issuance of an order of the juvenile court, pertaining
to the disposition of a ward of the county, committing that ward to a
juvenile hall, camp, or ranch for 30 days or longer, the county
juvenile detention facility shall provide the appropriate county
welfare department with the ward's name, his or her scheduled or
actual release date, any known information regarding the ward's
Medi-Cal status prior to disposition, and sufficient information,
when available, for the county welfare department to begin the
process of determining the ward's eligibility for benefits under this
chapter, including, if the ward is a minor, contact information for
the ward's parent or guardian, if available.
   (2) (A) If the ward is a minor, prior to providing information to
the county welfare department pursuant to paragraph (1), the county
juvenile detention facility shall notify the parent or guardian, in
writing, of its intention to submit the information required by that
paragraph to the county welfare department. The parent or guardian
shall be given a reasonable time to opt out of the Medi-Cal
eligibility determination provided for under this section, in which
case the county juvenile detention facility shall not comply with
paragraph (1).
   (B) No later than July 1, 2009, the department shall, in
consultation with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, county
probation departments, county human services agencies, and consumer
advocates, develop a model notification letter for use by juvenile
detention facilities to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A).
   (3) For purposes of this section, "ward" means a person in the
custody of a county juvenile detention facility.
   (b) (1) Upon receipt of the information described in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a), and pursuant to the protocols and procedures
developed pursuant to subdivision (c) the county welfare department
shall initiate an application for any ward not already enrolled in
the Medi-Cal program, and determine the individual's eligibility for
benefits under the Medi-Cal program. If the ward is a minor, the
county welfare department shall promptly contact the parent or
guardian to arrange for completion of the application. If the minor's
parent or guardian fails to cooperate in completing the application,
the county welfare department shall deny the application in
accordance with due process requirements. The county shall expedite
the application of a ward who, according to the information provided
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), is scheduled to be
released in fewer than 45 days.
   (2) If the county welfare department determines that the ward does
not meet the eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal program, the
county welfare department, with the consent of the ward's parent or
guardian, if the ward is a minor, shall forward the ward's
information to the appropriate entity to determine eligibility for
the Healthy Families Program, or other appropriate health coverage
program, as determined by the department.
   (3) If the county welfare department determines that a ward meets
eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal program, the county shall
provide sufficient documentation to enable the ward to obtain
necessary medical care upon his or her release from custody.
   (c) (1) No later than January 1, 2010, and after the development
and dissemination of the model notification letter, as required by
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the department
shall convene a workgroup for the purpose of reviewing the
implementation of this section, and making recommendations, if
appropriate, to increase the rate of successful eligibility
determinations and minimize county administrative burden. The
workgroup shall consider, at a minimum, whether to recommend an
opt-in, rather than an opt-out, process for parents of wards who are
minors.
   (2) The workgroup shall include representatives of the Chief
Probation Officers of California and the County Welfare Directors
Association, legislative staff, and consumer advocates.
   (d) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department shall implement this section by means of all-county
letters or similar instructions, without taking any further
regulatory action. Thereafter, the department shall adopt
regulations, as necessary, to implement this section in accordance
with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (e) The department shall seek any federal waivers necessary for
the implementation of this section.