Health care coverage: pervasive developmental disorder or autism.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene Act) , provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism, and defines "behavioral health treatment" to mean specified services provided by, among others, a qualified autism service professional supervised and employed by a qualified autism service provider. Under existing law, to the extent required by the federal government and effective no sooner than required by the federal government, behavioral health treatment, as defined under the Knox-Keene Act, is a covered service under the Medi-Cal program for individuals under 21 years of age, as specified. This bill would revise those provisions, for purposes of health care service plans and health insurers, to require a qualified autism service professional or a qualified autism service paraprofessional to be supervised by a qualified autism service provider for purposes of providing behavioral health treatment. The bill would require a qualified autism service professional and a qualified autism service paraprofessional to be employed by a qualified autism service provider or an entity or group that employs qualified autism service providers. The bill additionally would authorize a qualified autism service professional, as specified, to supervise a qualified autism service paraprofessional. The bill would revise the definition of a qualified autism service professional to, among other things, specify that the behavioral health treatment provided by the qualified autism service professional may include clinical case management and case supervision under the direction and supervision of a qualified autism service provider. The bill would make other technical changes. The bill would revise the definition of behavioral health treatment for purposes of the Medi-Cal program to be those services administered by the State Department of Health Care Services as described in the state plan approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.