AB 367

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. Existing law creates the continuously appropriated Medical Providers Interim Payment Fund, for the purposes of paying Medi‑Cal providers, providers of drug treatment services for persons infected with HIV, and providers of services for the developmentally disabled, on and after July 1, and before September 1, of the fiscal year for which a budget has not yet been enacted or there is a deficiency in the Medi‑Cal budget in any fiscal year, and appropriates, for each fiscal year in which these payments are necessary, up to $1,000,000,000 from the General Fund, in the form of loans, and $1,000,000,000 from the Federal Trust Fund to the Medical Providers Interim Payment Fund. This bill would, instead, provide that these transfers to the Medical Providers Interim Payment Fund shall be in an amount sufficient to make continued payments to the above-described providers on or after July 1 of the fiscal year for which no budget has been enacted until the date upon which a budget is enacted for that year or when there is a deficiency in the Medi-Cal budget. To the extent that the bill would increase the amount transferred into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Under existing law, notwithstanding any other provision of law, and to the extent not otherwise conflicting with federal law, the department is authorized to hold, or direct the medical fiscal intermediary for the Medi-Cal program to hold, payments for Medi-Cal providers, as described, for a period of one month for a month ending prior to June 30, 2009. This bill would delete the above provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.