2018 Position Letters - Healthcare

Bills about Medi-Cal and Other Health Related Programs
Legislation

2018 Position Letters - Healthcare

AB 1785 (Nazarian) - Support - Medi-Cal and College Savings Plans

This bill would exclude qualified distributions from a 529 college savings account from consideration for purposes of any income test to determine eligibility for Medi-Cal benefits.

pdf version 5-22-18 support letter
pdf version 7-3-18 request for signature letter

AB 2122 (Reyes) - Support - Medi-Cal: Blood Lead Screening Tests 

This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services to ensure that a child enrolled in Medi-Cal receives blood lead screening tests at 12 and 24 months of age, and that a child 2 to 6 years of age receives a blood lead screening test if there is no record of a previous test for that child.

pdf version 3-28-18 support letter
pdf version 9-12-18 request for signature

AB 2180 (Karla) - Support - Long Term Care Disability Insurance

The private long-term care insurance market has struggled to keep pace with the changing needs and preferences of policyholders. By providing more consumer-friendly changes to the law, AB 2180 will help create a better marketplace to serve those who choose private insurance for their long term supports and services needs.

pdf version 6-12-18 support letter
pdf version 7-16-18 request for signature letter

AB 2233 (Kalra) - Support - Medi-Cal Assisted Living Waiver Program

This bill would require the department to submit, in 2019, to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services a request for renewal of the Assisted Living Waiver program. The bill would require additional slots in the 15 existing waiver counties and expansion of the program beyond those counties.

pdf version 6-14-18 support letter
pdf version 9-14-18 request for signature

AB 2275 (Arambula) - Support - Medi-Cal Managed Care: Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement

This bill addresses quality and consistency, reducing disparities in the health care system.

pdf version 6-11-18 support letter
pdf version 7-13-18 support letter
pdf version 9-7-18 request for signature

AB 2299 (Chu) - Support - Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans: Informational Materials

This bill would require all written health education and informing materials in English and translated into threshold languages by managed care plans be at or below the equivalent of 6th grade reading level.

pdf version 7-13-18 support letter
pdf version 9-10-18 request for signature

AB 2331 (Weber) – Support - Medi-Cal Redeterminations

This bill promotes efficient redeterminations for a Medi-Cal beneficiary who has a developmental disability and is eligible for regional center services. It does so by allowing the county to evaluate a regional consumer for annual Medi-Cal eligibility redetermination using information obtained by the regional centers from the consumer or family in the last 36 months without requesting additional information from the beneficiary.

  pdf version 4-16-18 support letter
pdf version 5-22-18 support letter

AB 2430 (Arambula) - DRC Sponsored Bill - Support - Medi-Cal: Aged & Disabled Program Eligibility

This bill corrects a disparity in eligibility levels for Medi-Cal recipients who receive coverage through the Aged and Disabled program (A&D) when compared to eligibility for most other adults. When A&D was established, in 1989, the eligibility level was equivalent to the 133% federal poverty level standard. The amount was expressed as a dollar amount, not as a percentage and has not changed.

pdf version 3-27-18 support letter
pdf version 6-6-18 support letter

AB 2965 (Arambula) - Support - Medi-Cal Immigration Status

This bill would extend eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to people who are under 26 years of age and who are otherwise eligible for Medi-Cal benefits but for their immigration status.

pdf version 6-14-18 support letter
pdf version 7-13-18 support letter

AB 3087 (Kalra) - Support - California Health Care Cost, Quality, and Equity Commission

This bill creates the California Health Care Cost, Quality, and Equity Commission, an independent state agency, to control in-state health care costs and set the amounts accepted as payment by health plans, hospitals, and physicians. The bill is an important measure in cost containment because it will look at the reasons for high costs and bring equity to prices.

pdf version 4-23-18 support letter

SB 910 (Hernandez) – Support - Short-Term Insurance

This bill would ban short-term insurance.  This type of coverage disrupts the health insurance market and may deceive the purchaser who later finds out a particular condition is not covered.

pdf version 3-8-18 support letter
pdf version 6-8-18 support letter
pdf version 9-10-18 request for signature

SB 945 (Atkins) - Support - Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program 

This bill deletes statutory time limits in the state’s breast and cervical cancer treatment program.

pdf version 5-21-18 support letter

SB 1021 (Wiener) - Support - Prescription Drugs

This bill helps consumers who need expensive prescription drugs by revising the way prescription drug benefits are applied when the retail price of a drug is less than the drug plan’s applicable copayment.

pdf version 7-27-18 support letter
pdf version 9-14-18 request for signature

SB 1108 (Hernandez) – Support - Medi-Cal Eligibility

California, under this bill, would be prohibited from seeking any waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would limit eligibility through work activities, waiting periods, or any other condition of eligibility not authorized under state or federal law.

pdf version 3-28-18 support letter
pdf version 6-8-18 support letter
pdf version 7-27-18 support letter
pdf version 9-14-18 request for signature

SB 1125 (Atkins) – Support - Federally Qualified Health Center and Rural Health Clinic Services

This bill eliminates a barrier to accessing mental health services by allowing community health centers to bill Medi-Cal for medical and mental health services on the same day.

pdf version 4-16-18 support letter
pdf version 5-15-18 support letter
pdf version 6-12-18 support letter
pdf version 7-19-18support letter
pdf version 9-6-18 request for signature

SB 1287 (Hernandez) - Support - Medi-Cal Medically Necessary Services

This bill would revise the Medi-Cal definition of “medically necessary” for purposes of an individual under 21 years of age to incorporate the existing description of necessary EPSDT services under federal law.

pdf version 6-22-18 support letter
pdf version 7-30-18 support letter

SB 1423 (Hernandez) - Support - Interpretation Services for Medi-Cal Services

Under this bill, Medi-Cal beneficiaries with limited English proficiency will receive meaningful interpretation services for oral treatment and mental health.

pdf version 9-12-18 request for signature