Bill Text: CA AB1937 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Medi-Cal: out-of-pocket pregnancy costs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-06 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1937 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB1937-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Medi-Cal: out-of-pocket pregnancy costs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-06 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1937 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB1937-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1937
| Introduced by Assembly Member Patterson |
February 10, 2022 |
An act to add Section 14005.186 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1937, as introduced, Patterson.
Medi-Cal: out-of-pocket pregnancy costs.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Under existing law, an individual is eligible for Medi-Cal benefits, as though the individual was pregnant, for all pregnancy-related and postpartum services for a one-year period beginning on the last day of pregnancy. Existing law also establishes the Medi-Cal Access Program, which provides health care services to a person who is pregnant or in their postpartum period and whose household income is between specific thresholds and to a child under 2 years of age who is delivered by a mother enrolled in the program, as specified.
This bill would require the
department, on or before January 1, 2024, to establish a health expense account program for pregnant Medi-Cal beneficiaries and pregnant subscribers of the Medi-Cal Access Program. The bill would make a Medi-Cal beneficiary who is pregnant or a pregnant subscriber of the Medi-Cal Access Program eligible for reimbursement for “out-of-pocket pregnancy related costs,” as defined, in an amount not to exceed $1,000. The bill would require the person to submit the request for reimbursement within 3 months of the end of the pregnancy in order to be reimbursed. The bill would require the department to seek to maximize federal financial participation in implementing the program. The bill would require the department, to the extent federal financial participation is unavailable, to implement the program only with state funds.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 14005.186 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following Section 14005.185, to read:14005.186.
(a) On or before, January 1, 2024, the department shall establish a health expense account program for pregnant Medi-Cal beneficiaries and pregnant subscribers of the Medi-Cal Access Program established pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3.(b) A person eligible pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be eligible for reimbursement for out-of-pocket pregnancy related costs in an amount not to exceed one-thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) A person eligible pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be reimbursed for costs unless the request for reimbursement is submitted within three months after the last day of pregnancy.
(d) In implementing this section, the department shall seek to maximize federal financial participation. To the extent federal financial participation is unavailable, the department shall implement this section only with state funds.
(e) For purposes of this section, “out-of-pocket pregnancy related costs” includes, but is not limited to, birthing classes, hiring a doula, midwife care, purchasing a new car seat, crib, or other similar item.
