AB 835 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Medi-Cal: skilled nursing facility services.

Summary

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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law, the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act, requires the department, subject to any necessary federal approvals, for managed care rating periods that begin between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2026, inclusive, to establish and implement the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program. Under that program, a network provider furnishing skilled nursing facility services to a Medi-Cal managed care enrollee is authorized to earn performance-based directed payments from the Medi-Cal managed care plan with which they contract, as specified, in addition to other certain payments. This bill would remove from the above-described provision the qualification that the provider be within the network. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions. Under the bill, pursuant to conditions of eligibility for directed payments under certain federal regulations, payments made under the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program would be retroactively calculated and paid based on the total number of days, effective July 9, 2024, during which the facility provided services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, regardless of whether the facility was a network provider.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

02/19/25 - Introduced → 03/13/25 - Amended Assembly · 7 edits · Mar 13, 2025

MODERATE

AB 835 was substantially expanded from a minor technical fix to a juvenile custody statute into a major Medi-Cal policy bill. The amended version adds an entirely new section (Section 14126.024) establishing the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program for skilled nursing facilities, targeting $280 million in performance-based directed payments for 2023 with increases through 2026. Critically, the amendment removes the requirement that a facility be a 'network provider' to receive retroactive payments calculated from July 9, 2024, meaning non-network facilities that served Medi-Cal beneficiaries are now eligible for those payments.

SCOPE

Entirely new Section 1 amending Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14126.024 to establish the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program for skilled nursing facilities providing services to Medi-Cal managed care enrollees during rating periods from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026.

Exempts freestanding pediatric subacute care facilities and special program services for the mentally disordered that receive supplemental payments under Section 51511.1 from the directed payment program.

FISCAL

Sets a target of $280 million in performance-based directed payments for the 2023 calendar year, with subsequent years (2024-2026) set at the prior year's target plus an annual increase specified in Section 14126.033, plus a one-time increase from amounts described in Section 14126.032(f).

Fiscal committee review designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the new state funding obligations created by the Medi-Cal directed payment provisions.

ELIGIBILITY

Removes the network provider qualification for retroactive directed payments: payments are calculated based on total days of service to Medi-Cal beneficiaries effective July 9, 2024, regardless of whether the facility was a network provider.

REQUIREMENT

Requires at least two of the performance milestones and metrics to be tied to workforce measures. Payments must be in addition to (not supplanting) other payments made by managed care plans to SNF providers.

TECHNICAL

The original juvenile custody provision (Section 307.5) is renumbered as Section 2 and receives only minor technical edits: 'he or she' replaced with 'the officer,' 'child care custodians' changed to 'childcare custodians,' and 'Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 307' shortened to 'Notwithstanding Section 307.'

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

lower

May 14, 2025

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 22.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors