Bill Text: CA AB2237 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Assembly Bill 2237

Bill Title: Children and youth: transfer of specialty mental health services.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-09-27 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2237 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2237-Enrolled.html

Enrolled September 03, 2024

Passed IN Senate August 28, 2024

Passed IN Assembly August 29, 2024

Amended IN Senate August 23, 2024

Amended IN Senate June 26, 2024

Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2024

Amended IN Assembly March 18, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2237

Introduced by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bennett and Jackson)
(Coauthors: Senators Rubio and Stern)

February 08, 2024

An act to add Section 14716.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2237, Aguiar-Curry. Children and youth: transfer of specialty mental health services.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services (department), 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, specialty mental health services include federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) services provided to eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries under 21 years of age.

This bill would require, when a child or youth 21 years of age or younger who is receiving Medi-Cal specialty mental health services changes residence from one county to another, the receiving county to provide specialty mental health services to the child or youth, if the transfer of those services from one county to another is not otherwise governed by a process established in statute. The bill also would require the State Department of Health Care Services to collect specified data related to the receipt of specialty mental health services by children and youth who move outside of the county where they originally received specialty mental health services, and to include the data in the department’s Medi-Cal specialty mental health services performance dashboard. The bill would require the department to issue guidance, as specified, to define the requirements placed on a receiving county for the continued provision of specialty mental health services, to coordinate and expedite the transfer of services from one county to another, and reduce the burden on children and youth and their caregivers to reestablish services in the receiving county. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific its provisions by means of all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions, until regulations are adopted, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 14716.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

14716.5.

(a) When a child or youth 21 years of age or younger who is receiving Medi-Cal specialty mental health services changes residence from one county to another, and the transfer of the child’s or youth’s specialty mental health services from one county to another is not otherwise governed by a process established in statute, the receiving county shall provide specialty mental health services to the child or youth.

(b) The department shall collect data related to the receipt of specialty mental health services by children and youth who move outside of the county where they received specialty mental health services. These data shall be included in the department’s Medi-Cal specialty mental health services performance dashboard, in compliance with all applicable state and federal privacy and confidentiality laws, and shall contain all of the following statewide information:

(1) The number of children and youth receiving specialty mental health services who move outside the county where they originally received specialty mental health services.

(2) The number of children and youth receiving specialty mental health services after they move outside the county where they originally received specialty mental health services.

(3) The outcomes for children and youth receiving specialty mental health services who move across county lines.

(c) The department shall issue guidance that defines requirements placed on a receiving county for the continued provision of specialty mental health services, as required by subdivision (a), to coordinate and expedite the transfer of specialty mental health services from one county to another, and reduce the burden on children and youth and their caregivers to reestablish services in the receiving county. The guidance shall also include both of the following:

(1) A point of contact at the department, accessible to applicable children and youth and their caregivers, that is responsible for ensuring that counties meet the requirements of subdivision (a), including reaching out to counties to resolve any potential problems with the transfer of services.

(2) Standardized notification and information-sharing requirements for county mental health plans and specialty mental health services providers, to facilitate the continued provision of specialty mental health services by a receiving county, including streamlining any required prior authorization in order to continue services in the receiving county, pursuant to subdivision (a).

(d) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions, without taking any further regulatory action, until regulations are adopted.