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. 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. "Visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of an FQHC or RHC and specified health care professionals, including a physician and marriage and family therapist. Under existing law, "physician," for these purposes, includes, but is not limited to, a physician and surgeon, an osteopath, and a podiatrist. This bill would authorize reimbursement for a maximum of 2 visits taking place on the same day at a single location if after the first visit the patient suffers illness or injury requiring additional diagnosis or treatment, or if the patient has a medical visit and a mental health visit or a dental visit, as defined. The bill would authorize an FQHC or RHC that currently includes the cost of a medical visit and a mental health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as a single visit for purposes of establishing the FQHC's or RHC's rate to apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate, and after the department has approved that rate adjustment, to bill a medical visit and a mental health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as separate visits, in accordance with the bill. This bill would also include a licensed acupuncturist within those health care professionals covered under the definition of "visit." The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2020, to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reflect certain changes described in the bill, and to seek necessary federal approvals. The bill would also make conforming and technical changes.
Sponsored bills
This measure would provide that the pending Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and any resolution thereof, must protect the citizens of California from the imminent and ongoing threats posed by climate change, the buildup of fuels, and inadequate electrical infrastructure. The measure would provide that it is the will of the Legislature that the Public Utilities Commission, in filings with the bankruptcy court overseeing the proceedings, promote certain policy goals relating to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the electrical and gas systems, and victims of wildfires, and communicate the proceedings' profound and direct impacts on the people of California. The measure would provide that it is the will of the Legislature that all Pacific Gas and Electric Company executive compensation be restricted based upon strict compliance with safety and reliability laws and that the company reconstitute its board as specified.
This measure would recognize August 15, 2019, as India's Independence Day, and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.
This measure would call for continued support and recognition of the many benefits provided by Special Olympics.
The existing Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (the law) generally prohibits a person from manufacturing, packing, or holding processed food in this state unless the person has a valid registration from the State Department of Public Health. Existing law makes a person who violates this requirement subject to imprisonment for not more than one year in a county jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both the imprisonment and fine. Existing law exempts from the registration requirement a person whose manufacturing, packing, or holding of processed food is limited solely to activities authorized by, among other things, a valid winegrower's license or wine blender's license. Existing law also makes beer, which is subject to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, subject only to the requirements of the law that relate to adulteration and misbranding. This bill would exempt the holder of a valid beer manufacturer's license from the registration requirements of the law.
Existing law requires a prescriber, as defined, to offer to a patient a prescription for naloxone hydrochloride or another drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression when certain conditions are present, including if the patient presents with an increased risk for overdose or a history of substance use disorder, and to provide education on overdose prevention to patients receiving a prescription and specified other persons. This bill would make those provisions applicable only to a patient receiving a prescription for an opioid or benzodiazepine medication, and would make the provisions specific to opioid-induced respiratory depression, opioid overdose, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdose prevention, as specified. The bill, among other exclusions, would exclude from the above-specified provisions requiring prescribers to offer a prescription and provide education prescribers when ordering medications to be administered to a patient in an inpatient or outpatient setting. The bill would exclude from the definition of "prescriber" a person licensed under the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act and would define other terms for purposes of those provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would declare August 2019 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.
This measure would endorse activities in public schools that instruct pupils in upholding and sustaining American democracy, encourage, in the strongest terms, California schools to pursue certain recognized designations that reflect specified ethos and values, and encourage publicly elected officials to conduct themselves in ways that strengthen civic engagement and participation in civil society.
This measure would formally apologize for California's past complicity in enabling and furthering the practice of slavery and would urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to enact House Resolution 40 to study the legacy of slavery and provide recommendations on redress for descendants of enslaved persons.