Bill Text: CA AB2342 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Medi-Cal: critical access hospitals: islands.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-26 - Referred to Com. on HEALTH. [AB2342 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2342-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2342

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Introduced by Assembly Member Lowenthal

February 12, 2024

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An act to add Section 14105.175 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2342, as introduced, Lowenthal. Medi-Cal: critical access hospitals: islands.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and 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, a hospital designated by the department as a critical access hospital, and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare rural hospital flexibility program, is eligible for supplemental payments for Medi-Cal covered outpatient services rendered to Medi-Cal eligible persons. Existing law conditions those payments on receipt of federal financial participation and an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for the nonfederal share of those payments, with supplemental payments being apportioned among critical access hospitals based on their number of Medi-Cal outpatient visits.

This bill, subject to appropriation and the availability of federal funding, would require the department to provide an annual supplemental payment, for services covered under Medi-Cal, to each critical access hospital that operates on an island that is located more than 10 miles offshore of the mainland coast of the state but is still within the jurisdiction of the state. The bill would specify the formula of the payment amount, which would be in addition to any supplemental payment described above.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for critical access hospitals operating on those islands.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 14105.175 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following Section 14105.17, to read:

14105.175.

 (a) The department shall provide an annual supplemental payment, for services covered under the Medi-Cal program, to each hospital designated by the department as a critical access hospital, and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare rural hospital flexibility program, and that operates on an island that is located more than 10 miles offshore of the mainland coast of the state but is still within the jurisdiction of the state.

(b) (1) The annual supplemental payment described in subdivision (a) shall be in the amount of the preceding fiscal year’s median amount paid to hospitals in the health care districts in the state for the corresponding services.

(2) The median amount described in paragraph (1) shall be based on the aggregate of all Medi-Cal supplemental payments made in the applicable fiscal year to hospitals in the health care districts for the corresponding services.

(c) The annual supplemental payment described in subdivision (a) shall be in addition to any supplemental payment received by the hospital pursuant to Section 14105.17.

(d) (1) The department shall seek any necessary federal approvals to implement this section.

(2) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that any necessary federal approvals have been obtained and federal financial participation is available.

(e) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that an appropriation is made in the annual Budget Act or another statute for the nonfederal share of the supplemental payments described in subdivision (a).

(f) This section shall not be construed to mean that a critical access hospital is not a general acute care hospital.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances of critical access hospitals operating on islands located more than 10 miles offshore of the mainland coast of the state.