Medi-Cal: alcohol and drug screening and brief intervention services.

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. This bill would establish the Medi-Cal Alcohol and Drug Screening and Brief Intervention Services Program, under which the department, in consultation with the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, would be required to provide reimbursement under the Medi-Cal program for alcohol and drug screening and brief intervention services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are pregnant women or women of childbearing age, as specified. This bill would require the nonfederal share of expenditures submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for purposes of claiming federal financial participation for services provided pursuant to the program to be comprised of only those funds that are paid by a public entity, as defined. The bill would require a public entity that participates in the program, upon receiving federal financial participation for expenditures made to CMS for alcohol and drug screening and brief intervention services, to reimburse the state for any costs of creating and administering the program. The bill would require the department to seek all necessary federal approvals for the implementation of the program. The bill would provide that participation in the program would be voluntary for a qualifying Medi-Cal beneficiary. The bill would also require the fact of whether a beneficiary participates in the program, and the results of any screening done under the program, to be maintained in the beneficiary's confidential medical records, as provided. The bill would provide that the above-described provisions shall be implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal funds are available for that purpose.