Medi-Cal specialty mental health services.

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, including specialty mental health services, and Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment services for an individual under 21 years of age. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, one of the methods by which Medi-Cal services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care health plans, including mental health plans that provide specialty mental health services. Existing law requires the department to ensure that Medi-Cal managed care contracts include a process for screening, referral, and coordination with mental health plans of specialty mental health services. Existing law requires the department to convene a steering committee to provide advice on the transition and continuing development of the Medi-Cal mental health managed care systems, and to ensure that the mental health plans comply with various standards, such as maintaining a system of outreach to enable Medi-Cal beneficiaries and providers to participate in and access Medi-Cal specialty mental health services under the mental health plans. This bill would require, on or before March 31, 2020, the department to convene a stakeholder workgroup, including representatives from the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to identify all forms currently used by mental health plan contractors for purposes of determining eligibility and reimbursement for specialty mental health services that are provided under Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program, and to develop standard forms. The bill would also authorize the department and the workgroup to develop a list of department-approved nonstandard forms. The bill would require the standard forms to be completed by January 1, 2021. The bill would require representatives from the department and the workgroup to provide, on or before July 1, 2021, regional trainings for mental health plans and their provider networks on the standard forms. The bill would require mental health plan contractors to distribute the training material and standard forms to their provider networks, and, to commence, by July 1, 2021, exclusively using the standard forms, unless they use department-approved nonstandard forms.