Medi-Cal: reimbursement rates: rural counties.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law provides that federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services, as defined, are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for services provided by qualified providers in counties with both a population density under 300 persons per square mile and a total population under 500,000 persons.