Under existing law, any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, is guilty of a felony, punishable as specified. This bill would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiance or fiancee of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state mandated-local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
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Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income persons are provided with health care services, including mental health services. The Medi-Cal program is partially governed and funded under federal Medicaid provisions. Under existing law, the State Department of Mental Health (department) is required to implement managed mental health care for Medi-Cal recipients through fee-for-service or capitate contracts with mental health plans. Existing law requires, for funding allocations and risk-sharing determinations and arrangements for specialty mental health services reimbursed through a fee-for-service payment system, that the department allocate the contracted amount at the beginning of the contract period to the mental health plan. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2011, exclude the Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) specialty mental health services provided under a Medi-Cal specialty mental health services waiver from being allocated and distributed at the beginning of the contract period.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a plan to obtain department approval prior to a material modification of its plan or operations and requires a plan to take specified actions prior to terminating a contract with a provider group or a general acute care hospital. Existing law imposes specified requirements with respect to the accessibility of services provided by both plans and insurers. This bill would require a plan or an insurer that contracts with providers to obtain approval from its regulating department prior to implementing a network modification, as defined, and would require the plan or insurer, in order to obtain approval, to demonstrate that the modified network would meet certain access requirements. The bill would require plans and insurers to notify affected providers and enrollees or insureds of the modification, as specified. Existing law requires a health care service plan or a health insurer to include in its disclosure form and evidence of coverage a statement describing how participation in the plan or policy may affect the choice of provider, among other things. Existing law requires a health care service plan to, upon request, provide an enrollee or prospective enrollee with a list of certain contracting providers within his or her general geographic area. This bill would require the list to include additional information regarding hospital-based physicians. Existing law requires health insurers that contract with providers to provide group policyholders with a current roster of contracting providers and to make this list available for public inspection, as specified. This bill would instead require those health insurers to provide a list of certain contracting providers to insureds and prospective insureds upon request and would require that the list be updated, as specified. The bill would also require these health insurers to make information available, upon request, concerning a contracting provider's degree, certifications, or subspecialty qualifications. The bill would prohibit both plans and health insurers that contract with providers from including out-of-network or noncontracting providers in their lists. The bill would require those plans and insurers to provide a mechanism enabling enrollees, insureds, and providers to easily report provider directory errors to the plan or insurer and would require plans and insurers to correct confirmed errors within a specified period of time. The bill would enact other related provisions. Existing law requires the Department of Managed Health Care, as often as the director of the department deems necessary, but not less frequently than once every 3 years, to conduct an onsite medical survey of the health delivery system of each plan to ensure protection of subscribers and enrollees, as specified. Existing law requires that the survey include a review of, among other things, the procedures for obtaining health services, the procedures for regulating utilization, and the internal procedures for assuring quality of care. This bill would require the survey to also include a review of the plan's compliance with certain accessibility standards and with the contracting provider listing requirements described above. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services pursuant to which medical benefits are provided to public assistance recipients and certain other low-income persons. 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. Existing law allows an FQHC or RHC to apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate based on a change in the scope of services it provides. This bill would provide that a maximum of 2 visits, as defined, taking place on the same day at a single location shall be reimbursed when either after the first visit the patient suffers illness or injury requiring additional diagnosis or treatment or the patient has a medical visit, as defined, and another health visit, as defined, or both. The bill would require an FQHC or RHC that currently includes the cost of encounters with more than one health professional that take place on the same day at a single location as constituting a single visit for purposes of establishing its FQHC or RHC rate to, by January 1, 2011, apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate, and, after the rate adjustment has been approved by the department, require the FQHC or RHC to bill a medical visit and another health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as separate visits. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would require the department, by January 15, 2010, to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reflecting the changes described above.
Under existing law, the Department of Rehabilitation provides comprehensive, coordinated, effective, efficient, and accountable programs of vocational rehabilitation and independent living for individuals with disabilities, particularly individuals with the most severe disabilities, so that these individuals may prepare for and engage in gainful employment and live more independently. Existing law requires the department to recommend to each organization or agency, the purpose of which is to provide services to the blind, that receives grants or contracts from the department the number of blind members of the board that is appropriate to meet the needs of the community being served by that board. This bill would, instead, require that an organization or agency whose sole purpose is to provide services to the blind or visually impaired, that receives grants or contracts from the department, have at least 20% blind or visually impaired individuals as board members.
This measure would recognize the 45th Anniversary of the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, and would recognize the value to the state of agricultural land conservation contracts.
This measure would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to uphold protections of women's equality and to encourage all Americans to participate in the celebration of Women's Equality Day on August 26, 2010, the 90th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.
This measure would declare April 2010 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the need for increased financial literacy.
The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. The act requires each entity that enters into a direct service contract with the state to provide child care and development services to comply with specified financial requirements, and to annually undergo a financial and compliance audit. This bill would authorize a contractor to carry forward certain reimbursable expenses and unearned funds to a subsequent contract issued by the department to continue the same program or services, subject to specified requirements. The bill would require the department to submit a report to specified committees of each house of the Legislature by January 1, 2014. The bill would repeal the bill's provisions on January 1, 2016.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, prohibits a person from selling a plastic bag in this state that is labeled with the term "compostable" or "marine degradable" unless, at the time of sale, the plastic bag meets specified standards for those types of bags. This bill would require, beginning July 1, 2010, a manufacturer of a compostable plastic bag meeting those standards to ensure that the compostable plastic bag is readily and easily identifiable from other plastic bags. The bill would define "readily and easily identifiable," to include a compostable plastic bag labeled with a boardÂapproved certification logo and that meets other labeling requirements. The bill would prohibit a compostable plastic bag sold in the state from displaying a chasing arrow resin identification code or recycling type of symbol in any form. The bill would require the manufacturers or suppliers of compostable plastic bags to submit a yearly report to the board containing certain information, subject those manufacturers or suppliers to audit by the board, and require the board to refer a false or misleading certification or other information reported by those manufacturers or suppliers to the Attorney General for prosecution.