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, Medi-Cal services may be provided pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care health plans, including through a county organized health system. Under existing law, in-person contact between a health care provider and a patient is not required under the Medi-Cal program for services appropriately provided through telehealth. Existing law provides that neither face-to-face contact nor a patient’s physical presence on the premises of an enrolled community clinic is required for services provided by the clinic to a Medi-Cal beneficiary during or immediately following a
proclamation declaring a state of emergency. Existing law defines “immediately following” for this purpose to mean up to 90 days following the termination of the proclaimed state of emergency, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene), provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a contract issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, between a health care service plan or health insurer and a health care provider to require the plan or insurer to reimburse the provider for the diagnosis, consultation, or treatment of an enrollee, subscriber, insured, or policyholder appropriately delivered through telehealth services on the same basis and to the same extent as the same service through in-person
diagnosis, consultation, or treatment. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to specify that coverage is provided for health care services appropriately delivered through telehealth on the same basis and to the same extent as in-person diagnosis, consultation, or treatment. Existing law exempts Medi-Cal managed care plans that contract with the State Department of Health Care Services under the Medi-Cal program from these provisions, and generally exempts county organized health systems that provide services under the Medi-Cal program from Knox-Keene.
This bill would delete the above-described references to contracts issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, would require these provisions to apply to the plan or insurer’s contracted entity, as specified, and would delete the exemption for Medi-Cal managed care plans. The bill would subject county
organized health systems, and their subcontractors, that provide services under the Medi-Cal program to the above-described Knox-Keene requirements relative to telehealth. The bill would authorize a provider to enroll or recertify an individual in Medi-Cal programs through telehealth and other forms of virtual communication, as specified.
This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to indefinitely continue the telehealth flexibilities in place during the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency. The bill would require the department, by January 2022, to convene an advisory group with specified membership to provide input to the department on the development of a revised Medi-Cal telehealth policy that promotes specified principles. The bill would require the department, by December 2024, to complete an evaluation to assess the benefits of telehealth in Medi-Cal, including an analysis of improved access for patients, changes in health quality
outcomes and utilization, and best practices for the right mix of in-person visits and telehealth. The bill would require the department to report its findings and recommendations from the evaluation to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature no later than July 1, 2025.