Bill Text: CA AB422 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: School lunch program applications: health care notice.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-10-01 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 440, Statutes of 2013. [AB422 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB422-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 422 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 440
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 1, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 1, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 3, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nazarian
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to amend Section 49557.2 of the Education Code, relating to
public schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 422, Nazarian. School lunch program applications: health care
notice.
Existing law creates various programs to provide health care
services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various
eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families
Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board,
and the Medi-Cal program administered by the State Department of
Health Care Services.
Existing law provides for a school lunch program under which
eligible pupils receive free or reduced-price meals. Existing law
authorizes the sharing of the school lunch program application with
the county agency administering the Medi-Cal program for use in
making an accelerated Medi-Cal eligibility determination for pupils
eligible for free meals. Existing law provides for the sending of a
Healthy Families Program application to pupils determined to be
ineligible for Medi-Cal coverage.
This bill would, commencing January 1, 2014, require the notices
to include prescribed advisements about the availability of free or
reduced-cost comprehensive health care coverage through Medi-Cal or
the California Health Benefit Exchange, respectively. The bill would
authorize a school district also to include the notices in certain
notifications required at the beginning of the first semester or
quarter of the regular school term. The bill would require a county
that receives the information provided on a school lunch program
application, for a pupil who is not already enrolled in a health
insurance affordability program, to treat the school lunch program
application as an application for a health insurance affordability
program, as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 49557.2 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
49557.2. (a) (1) At the option of the school district or county
superintendent, and to the extent necessary to implement Section
14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the following
information may be incorporated into the School Lunch Program
application packet or notification of eligibility for the School
Lunch Program using simple and culturally appropriate language:
(A) A notification that if a child qualifies for free school
lunches, then the child may qualify for free or reduced-cost health
coverage.
(B) A request for the applicant's consent for the child to
participate in the Medi-Cal program, if eligible for free school
lunches, and to have the information on the school lunch application
shared with the entity designated by the State Department of Health
Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the local
agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program.
(C) A notification that the school district will not forward the
school lunch application to the entity designated by the State
Department of Health Care Services to make an accelerated
determination and the local agency that determines eligibility under
the Medi-Cal program, without the consent of the child's parent or
guardian.
(D) A notification that the school lunch application is
confidential and, with the exception of forwarding the information
for use in health program enrollment upon the consent of the child's
parent or guardian, the school district will not share the
information with any other governmental agency, including the federal
Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security
Administration.
(E) A notification that the school lunch application information
will only be used by the entity designated by the State Department of
Health Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the
state and local agencies that administer the Medi-Cal program for
purposes directly related to the administration of the program and
will not be shared with other government agencies, including the
Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security
Administration for any purpose other than the administration of the
Medi-Cal program.
(F) Information regarding the Medi-Cal program, including
available services, program requirements, rights and
responsibilities, and privacy and confidentiality requirements.
(2) The department, in consultation with school districts, county
superintendents of schools, consumer advocates, counties, the State
Department of Health Care Services, and other stakeholders, shall
make recommendations regarding the School Lunch Program application,
on or before February 1, 2003. The recommendations shall include
specific changes to the School Lunch Program application materials as
necessary to implement Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, information for staff as to how to implement the
changes, and a description of the process by which information on the
School Lunch Program application will be shared with the county, as
the local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal
program.
(3) At the option of the school, the request for consent in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) may be modified so that the parent
or guardian can also consent to allowing Medi-Cal to inform the
school as provided in subdivision (n) of Section 14005.41 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code when followup is needed in order to
complete the Medi-Cal application process.
(b) (1) School districts and county superintendents of schools may
implement a process to share information provided on the School
Lunch Program application with the entity designated by the State
Department of Health Care Services to make an accelerated
determination and with the local agency that determines eligibility
under the Medi-Cal program, and shall share this information with
those entities, if the applicant consents to that sharing of
information. Schools may designate, only as necessary to implement
this section, non-food service staff to assist in the administration
of free, reduced price, or paid school lunch applications that have
applicant consent, but only if that designation does not displace or
have an adverse effect on food service staff. This information may be
shared electronically, physically, or through whatever method is
determined appropriate.
(2) If a school is aware that a child, who has been found eligible
for free school lunches under the National School Lunch Program, and
for whom the parent or guardian has consented to share the
information provided on the application, already has an active
Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case, the application shall not be
processed for an accelerated determination but shall be forwarded to
the local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal
program pursuant to Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code. The school shall notify the parent or guardian of the child's
ineligibility for an accelerated Medi-Cal determination due to the
current eligibility status and that the child's application will be
forwarded to the county pursuant to this section. The notice shall
include a statement, with contact information, advising the parent or
guardian to contact the Medi-Cal or Healthy Families programs
regarding the child's eligibility status.
(3) Each school district or county superintendent that chooses to
share information pursuant to this subdivision shall enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the local agency that determines
eligibility under the Medi-Cal program, that sets forth the roles and
responsibilities of each agency and the process to be used in
sharing the information.
(4) The local agency that determines eligibility under the
Medi-Cal program shall only use information provided by applicants on
the school lunch application for purposes directly related to the
administration of the Medi-Cal program.
(5) After school districts share information regarding the school
lunch application with the entity designated by the State Department
of Health Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the
local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program,
for the purpose of determining Medi-Cal program eligibility, the
local agency and the school district shall not share information
about school lunch participation or the Medi-Cal program eligibility
information with each other except as specifically authorized under
subdivision (n) of Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code and other provisions of law.
(c) Effective July 1, 2005, the notifications and consent
referenced in subdivision (a) and the procedures set out in
subdivision (b) shall include the Healthy Families Program and any
relevant county- and local-sponsored health insurance programs as
necessary to implement Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(d) Effective January 1, 2014, the notifications referenced in
subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:
(1) Advise the applicant that the applicant may be eligible for
reduced-cost comprehensive health care coverage through the
California Health Benefit Exchange.
(2) Advise that, if the applicant's family income is low, the
applicant may be eligible for no-cost coverage through Medi-Cal.
(3) Provide the applicant with the contact information for the
California Health Benefit Exchange, including its Internet Web site
and telephone number.
(4) Comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) and any other applicable federal
or state disabled access law.
(e) If a school district finds that the child is eligible for
reduced price or paid meals under the National School Lunch Program
and consent was provided as described in subdivision (b), the entity
designated by the State Department of Health Care Services to make an
accelerated determination shall notify the parent or guardian of the
child's ineligibility for an accelerated Medi-Cal determination
pursuant to Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
The notification shall include information on other available health
programs for which the child may be eligible.
(f) A school district may also include the notifications in the
notifications at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of
the regular school term required pursuant to Section 48980.
(g) Upon receipt of information provided on the School Lunch
Program application pursuant to this section, for a pupil who is not
already enrolled in a health insurance affordability program, the
county shall treat the School Lunch Program application as an
application for a health insurance affordability program. For
purposes of administration of the Medi-Cal program, the application
date shall be the date that the School Lunch Program application is
received by the county human services department. The county shall
take no further action if it determines that the pupil is already
enrolled in a health insurance affordability program.
