Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program: group outpatient drug free services.

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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law also provides for the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program (Drug Medi-Cal) , under which each county enters into contracts with the State Department of Health Care Services to provide various drug treatment services to Medi-Cal recipients, or the department directly arranges to provide these services if a county elects not to do so. For purposes of Drug Medi-Cal, existing law requires that the maximum allowable rate for group outpatient drug free services be set on a per person basis and requires that a group consist of a minimum of 4, and a maximum of 10, individuals, at least one of which must be a Medi-Cal eligible beneficiary. This bill would instead require a group to consist of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 12 individuals, at least one of which is a Medi-Cal eligible beneficiary. The bill would also require, if one of the individuals in a 2-member group is ineligible for Medi-Cal, that the individual who is ineligible for Medi-Cal be receiving outpatient drug free services for a substance abuse disorder diagnosed by a physician.