Medi-Cal: designated public hospitals: seismic safety requirements.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits, including hospital services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law authorizes the California Medical Assistance Commission to negotiate selective provider contracts with eligible hospitals to provide inpatient hospital services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Existing law generally defines a disproportionate share hospital as a hospital that has disproportionately higher costs, volume, or services related to the provision of services to Medi-Cal or other low-income patients than the statewide average. Under existing law, an eligible disproportionate share hospital may receive supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement for debt service on revenue bonds used for financing eligible capital projects. Under existing law, eligible projects include new capital projects funded by new debt for which final plans have been submitted to the Office of the State Architect (OSA) and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) after September 1, 1988, and prior to June 30, 1994, except as specified. This bill would, to the extent federal financial participation is available, extend similar supplemental reimbursement provisions to capital projects of designated public hospitals, as defined, meeting prescribed requirements for which final plans have been submitted to OSHPD after January 1, 2007, and prior to December 31, 2011, provided those projects are related to meeting seismic safety deadlines. The bill would require a hospital qualifying for the supplemental reimbursement to submit documentation to the department regarding debt service on general obligation bonds or revenue bonds used for financing the construction, renovation, or replacement of hospital facilities. The bill would prohibit the expenditure of state funds for the nonfederal share of the supplemental reimbursement. The bill would require the department to claim federal expenditures through the use of certified public expenditures or intergovernmental transfers, as necessary and appropriate.