Health and human services.

Under existing law, the State Department of Mental Health is authorized and required to perform various functions relating to the care and treatment of persons with mental disorders. Under existing law, services for these individuals may be provided in psychiatric hospitals or other types of facilities, as well as in community settings. This bill would eliminate or modify certain duties of, and programs administered by, the State Department of Mental Health, and would transfer the functions of the State Department of Mental Health to other state departments. The transferred responsibilities would include, among others, transferring licensing authority for psychiatric health facilities, as defined, to the State Department of Social Services, transferring authority for oversight of group homes for seriously emotionally disturbed children and community treatment facilities, and certain duties relating to drug and alcohol abuse programs, to the State Department of Health Care Services, and transferring to the State Department of State Hospitals jurisdiction over individuals under the treatment of state hospitals. This bill would abolish the existing Licensing and Certification Fund, Mental Health, and would create in its place the Mental Health Facility Licensing Fund, which, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would fund administrative and other activities in support of the mental health licensing and certification functions of the State Department of Social Services. This bill would make various related, technical, and conforming changes to reflect the transfer of state mental health responsibilities. 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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Under existing law, the State Department of Mental Health is required to implement mental health care services, as specified, for Medi-Cal recipients. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2012, requires state administrative functions for the operation of Medi-Cal specialty mental health managed care, the Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program, and applicable functions related to federal Medicaid requirements that are performed by the State Department of Mental Health to be transferred to the State Department of Health Care Services. This bill would transfer the administration of mental health services described above for Medi-Cal beneficiaries to the State Department of Health Care Services, effective July 1, 2012, and would make related changes. Existing law provides that clinics providing Medi-Cal specialty mental health services are not required to be licensed as a condition to reimbursement. This bill would require instead that clinics providing those services be certified as a condition to reimbursement. Existing law, to the extent permitted under federal law, authorizes funds deposited into a local health and welfare trust fund from the Sales Tax Account of the Local Revenue Fund to be used to match federal Medicaid funds in order to achieve the maximum federal reimbursement possible. This bill would instead authorize, to the extent permitted under specified provisions of law, that funds distributed to counties from the Mental Health Subaccount, the Mental Health Equity Subaccount, and the Vehicle License Collection Account of the Local Revenue Fund, funds from the Mental Health Account and the Behavioral Health Subaccount from the Local Revenue Fund 2011, funds from the Mental Health Services Fund, and any other funds from which the Controller makes distributions to the counties be used to pay for services provided by these funds that the counties may certify as public expenditures in order to achieve the maximum federal reimbursement possible. This bill would make related and conforming changes relating to federal audit exceptions. Existing law requires the State Department of Mental Health to implement managed mental health care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries through fee-for-service or capitated rate contracts with mental health plans, as specified. This bill would instead require the State Department of Health Care Services to implement managed mental health care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries through contracts with mental health plans. The bill would make various changes to associated contracting procedures and would specify the sources from which fines and penalties for noncompliance with specialty mental health service requirements may be satisfied. Existing law provides that a contract with a mental health plan may be renewed, for a period not to exceed 3 years, if the mental health plan continues to meet specified requirements. This bill would delete the 3-year limitation on renewed contracts. Existing law specifies responsibilities and procedures for audit exceptions, disallowances, and appeals for Medi-Cal specialty mental health services provided by mental health plans and mental health plan subcontractors. Existing law limits the maximum amount withheld for purposes of audit exceptions or disallowances to 25% of each payment, as specified. This bill would revise the responsibilities and procedures relating to audit exceptions, disallowances, and appeals, would eliminate obsolete language, and would make conforming and clarifying changes. The bill would authorize the department to increase the amount withheld to an amount greater than 25% of each payment in order to comply with federal laws and regulations. Existing law requires the State Department of Mental Health to allocate funds for the provision of mental health services to Medi-Cal eligible persons over 20 years of age to counties of over one million population that own and operate an acute psychiatric health facility, as specified. This bill would delete that provision. Existing law provides that counties have the right of first refusal to serve as a mental health plan. This bill would repeal these provisions on November 7, 2012, if a specified provision of law takes effect. Existing law requires the Secretary for California Health and Human Services to establish a process by which options for achieving universal health care coverage are developed. This bill would delete these provisions. This bill would delete obsolete provisions of law, and would make conforming, clarifying, and technical changes. This bill would appropriate the sum of $1,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Health Care Services for administration. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. This bill would become operative contingent upon the enactment of AB 1480 or SB 1020 of the 2011–12 Regular Session.