Health.

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 various health care delivery systems, including managed care pursuant to Medi-Cal managed care plan contracts. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill, subject to an appropriation, would require the department to implement activities and expenditures to enhance, expand, or strengthen home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would also, upon appropriation, require the department to complete an independent analysis to determine whether network adequacy exists to obtain federal approval for a covered Medi-Cal benefit that provides housing support services, and to report the outcomes of the analysis to the Legislature by January 1, 2024, as specified. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2022, certain time and distance and appointment time standards for specified Medi-Cal managed care covered services, consistent with federal regulations relating to network adequacy standards, to ensure that those services are available and accessible to enrollees of Medi-Cal managed care plans in a timely manner, as specified. This bill would extend the operation of those standards to January 1, 2023. This bill would appropriate $6,434,000, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, from the Federal Trust Fund to the department to support community mental health services. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.