Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.

Existing law establishes the federal Medicaid program, administered by each state, California's version of which is the Medi-Cal program. The Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services under the direction of the Director of Health Care Services, provides qualified low-income persons with health care services. Existing federal law establishes the Program of All‑Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) , which provides specified services for older individuals so that they may continue living in the community. Federal law permits states to implement the PACE program as a Medicaid state option. Existing state law authorizes the director to establish the California Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly and establishes PACE program services as a covered benefit of the Medi-Cal program. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Health Care Services, and as applicable, the California Department of Aging and the State Department of Social Services, to grant exemptions to entities contracting with the department under the PACE program from certain provisions relating to clinics, community care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, home health agencies, and adult day health centers. This bill would add the State Department of Public Health to the list of departments that may grant exemptions, as applicable. This bill specifies that certain federal requirements of the PACE model not be waived or modified, including, among others, the interdisciplinary team approach to care management and service delivery and the provision of a PACE benefit package for all participants, regardless of source of payment, that includes all Medicare-covered items and services, all Medicaid-covered items and services, as specified in the state's Medicaid plan, and other services determined necessary by the interdisciplinary team to improve and maintain the participant's overall health status. This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the above provisions.