Medi-Cal: managed care plan assignment: safety net provider.

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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. One of the methods by which these services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care plans. Existing law requires, with certain exceptions, that under certain models of Medi-Cal managed care, a Medi-Cal beneficiary be assigned to, and enrolled in, an appropriate health care plan providing services within the area in which the beneficiary resides if the beneficiary does not make a choice of managed care plans. Existing regulations define the term safety net provider for the purposes of the 2-plan model of Medi-Cal managed care. This bill, for the purposes of assigning an eligible Medi-Cal beneficiary to a managed care plan when the beneficiary fails to select a plan, would provide that the term safety net provider includes specified types of clinics and medical care providers.