The California Adult Day Health Care Act provides for the licensure and regulation of adult day health care centers, with administrative responsibility for the adult day health care program shared among the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the California Department of Aging pursuant to an interagency agreement. The Adult Day Health Medi-Cal Law establishes adult day health care services as a Medi-Cal benefit for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who meet certain criteria. Under existing law, participation in an adult day health care program requires prior authorization by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Health Care Services to implement a moratorium on the certification and enrollment into the Medi-Cal program of new adult day health care centers on a statewide basis or within a geographic area, subject to certain limitations. Existing law provides that the moratorium shall not apply to certain applicants. This bill would add 2 specified veterans homes of California to the list of applicants that are not subject to the moratorium, and also would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. This bill would provide that it would be implemented only to the extent that funds for its purposes are appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
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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. Under existing law, a health care service plan contract, except a specialized health care service plan contract, that is issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on or after January 1, 2000, is deemed to provide coverage for mammography for screening or diagnostic purposes upon referral by a participating nurse practitioner, participating certified nurse-midwife, or participating physician, providing care to the patient and operating within the scope of practice provided under existing law. Under existing law, an individual or group policy of disability insurance that is issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on or after January 1, 2000, is deemed to provide specified coverage based upon age for mammography for screening or diagnostic purposes upon referral by a participating nurse practitioner, participating certified nurse-midwife, or participating physician, providing care to the patient and operating within the scope of practice provided under existing law. This bill would provide that health care service plan contracts and individual or group policies of health insurance issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on or after July 1, 2011, shall be deemed to provide coverage for mammographies for screening or diagnostic purposes upon referral of a participating nurse practitioner, participating certified nurse-midwife, participating physician assistant, or participating physician, as specified. Because this bill would specify additional requirements for health care service plans, the willful violation of which would be a crime, it 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.
Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates health facilities and clinics, as defined. Under existing law, the Radiation Control Law, the department licenses and regulates persons that use devices or equipment utilizing radioactive materials. Under existing law the department may also require registration and inspection of sources of ionizing radiation, as defined. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2012, require hospitals and clinics, as specified, that use computed tomography (CT) X-ray systems for human use to record, if the CT systems are capable, the dose of radiation on every CT study produced during the administration of a CT examination, as specified. The bill would require the dose to be verified annually by a medical physicist, as specified, unless the facility is accredited. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2013, require facilities that furnish CT X-ray services to be accredited by an organization that is approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an accrediting agency approved by the Medical Board of California, or the State Department of Public Health. The bill would also require the facility to report certain information to the department, the affected patient, and the patient's treating physician. Because this bill expands the definition of a crime, it 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.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of clinics, health facilities, home health agencies, and hospices by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires these entities to prevent unlawful or unauthorized access to, and use or disclosure of, a patient's medical information. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law requires these entities to report an instance of unlawful or unauthorized access to, and use or disclosure of, a patient's medical information to the department and to the affected patient or patient's representative, as prescribed, within 5 business days of its detection, except that an entity is required to delay compliance with this reporting requirement beyond this 5 business day period if a law enforcement agency or official provides the entity with a written or oral statement that compliance with the reporting requirement would impede the law enforcement agency's activities that relate to the unlawful or unauthorized access to, and use or disclosure of, a patient's medical information and specifies the date upon which the delay shall end, as prescribed. This bill would, instead, apply the provision requiring a delay in compliance with the reporting requirement only to a statement that compliance with that requirement would impede the law enforcement agency's investigations, rather than activities. By expanding circumstances to which a crime would apply, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. Under existing law, the department is authorized to assess a penalty of $100 against a clinic, health facility, home health agency, or hospice to which the above provisions apply, for each day that an unlawful or unauthorized access, use, or disclosure is not reported. This bill would specify that the disclosure is required to be reported to the department or the affected patient. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption, for enforcement purposes, that the facility did not notify the affected patient if the notification was not documented. (2) Existing law establishes the Office of Health Information Integrity within the California Health and Human Services Agency to ensure the enforcement of state law mandating confidentiality of medical information and to impose administrative fines for the unauthorized use of medical information. Existing law authorizes the California Health and Human Services Agency, or one of the departments under its jurisdiction, to apply for federal funds made available through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for health information technology and exchange and, if no application is made, requires the Governor to designate a nonprofit entity to be the state-designated entity for purposes of health information exchange. Existing law requires the agency or state-designated entity to facilitate and expand the use and disclosure of health information electronically among organizations, as prescribed, while protecting individual privacy and the confidentiality of electronic medical records. This bill would, in addition, require the agency or state-designated entity to facilitate and expand the use and disclosure of health information electronically among organizations in accordance with applicable state and federal law. (3) Existing law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Implementation Act of 2001 (the act) , provides for the implementation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by the state under the direction of the Office of HIPAA Implementation, which was established by the Governor in the California Health and Human Services Agency. Under existing law, the act will become inoperative on July 1, 2010, and will be repealed January 1, 2011, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date, and all unexpended or unencumbered funds under the act will revert to the General Fund on July 1, 2010. This bill would extend the act's duration to January 1, 2013, when it would be repealed, and all funds under the act that are unexpended or unencumbered as of that date would revert to the General Fund. (4) 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. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish, by January 1, 2010, and until January 1, 2015, the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program for the purpose of increasing the amount of umbilical cord blood that is donated in the state and that will be added to the national inventory. Existing law authorizes the department, to the extent private or public funds are identified for this purpose, to contract with blood banks that are licensed or accredited to provide umbilical cord blood banking storage services, for the purpose of collecting and storing umbilical cord blood. This bill would, instead, request the University of California to establish and administer the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program on or before July 1, 2011, to conclude no later than January 1, 2018, for the purpose of collecting units of umbilical cord blood for public use, as defined, for transplantation and for providing nonclinical units for specified research. Existing law provides that any funds made available for purposes of the program shall be deposited into the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program Fund. Existing law provides that moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. Existing law provides that the fund shall include any federal, state, and private funds made available for purposes of the program. Existing law requires the collection of a $7 fee for certified copies of birth certificates. Under existing law, $4 of the $7 fee is allocated to either the county Children's Trust Fund or to the State Children's Trust Fund, which exists in the State Treasury. Existing law requires that the money in the State Children's Trust Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention programs, as specified. This bill would, instead, until January 1, 2018, require the collection of a $9 fee for certified copies of birth certificates and require that $2 of any $9 fee be paid to the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law, until February 20, 2009, authorized a claimant, as defined, to file a claim with the Controller to postpone the payment of ad valorem property taxes, where household income, as defined, did not exceed specified amounts. Existing law authorized the Controller, upon approval of the claim, to either make payment directly to specified entities, or to issue the claimant a certificate of eligibility that constituted a written promise of the state to pay the amount specified on the certificate, as provided. Existing law required these payments to be made out of specified funds appropriated to the Controller, as specified, and also required repaid property tax postponement payments to be transferred, as specified, to the General Fund. Existing law, on and after February 20, 2009, prohibits a person from filing a claim for postponement, and prohibits the Controller from accepting applications for postponement, under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law. This bill would establish the County Deferred Property Tax Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens, authorize a county to elect to participate in the program by adopting a resolution indicating the county's intention to participate in and administer the program, and specify that the requirements of a county or county officials set forth in the bill are conditioned upon the county's passage of the above-described resolution. Under the program, a participating county would be authorized to defer a claimant's property taxes retroactively, for property taxes due on or before February 20, 2010, and prospectively, as specified. This bill would require a claimant, as defined, to use the application form of a county to initiate participation in the program. The bill would authorize the county treasurer or county tax collector to review the claimant's application for program participation, as specified, and, if the claimant is eligible, and if there are sufficient funds within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, which this bill would require a participating county to establish within its treasury, to (1) defer property taxes on the claimant's residential dwelling for that fiscal year, (2) issue a subvention payment to that county, in an amount equivalent to the amount of the deferred property taxes, from the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, (3) direct the county auditor to apportion that subvention payment in the same manner as if the property taxes had been paid, and (4) provide a letter or other written notice to the claimant, noting the relevant fiscal year of participation, for use as written confirmation of participation. The bill would authorize the county treasurer of a participating county, if he or she makes a specified determination, upon the adoption of a specified resolution by that county's board of supervisors, to deposit specified funds in the county treasury for the purpose of investment of those funds in the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund. This bill would require the amount of property taxes deferred, plus any interest accrued thereon, to be secured by a county property tax lien, as specified. The bill would also require the lien to be evidenced by a notice of lien, and various county officials to process and record the notice of lien, as specified. The bill would require a participating county to charge a claimant a specified adjusted rate of interest on the amount owed for the deferment of property taxes. The bill would require the amount secured by the lien to be increased to reflect the accrual of interest on the property taxes deferred, or decreased by the amount of any payment made to reduce the amount secured by the lien, as specified. The bill would provide procedures for the release of the lien if the obligation is paid in full or otherwise discharged, and would require all amounts owed by a claimant under the program to become due immediately under specified circumstances. This bill would authorize a participating county to charge an application fee to the claimant to offset the actual costs of administering the program, and would require the fee proceeds to be deposited in an account within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, to be used exclusively for those administrative costs. The bill would require the letter or other written confirmation of participation in the program provided by the county to be considered as evidence of program participation.
Existing law establishes procedures and requirements to govern the allocation to, and expenditure by, local health jurisdictions of federal funding received for the prevention of, and response to, bioterrorist attacks and other public health emergencies. Existing law provides that these procedures apply only when local health jurisdictions are designated by a federal or state agency to manage the funds for public health preparedness and response to bioterrorist attacks and other public health emergencies, pursuant to a specified federally approved plan. Existing law repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2011, as specified. This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2013, and would provide that federal funding received pursuant to the federal 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act for pandemic influenza for purposes of state and local public health and emergency response infrastructure would be subject to appropriation by the Legislature for allocation by the State Department of Public Health, as prescribed and would modify the methodology for allocation of those funds. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California State University and its various campuses under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University. Existing law requires the California State University to offer undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education, including teacher education. This bill, until July 1, 2018, would authorize the California State University to establish a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program at 3 campuses chosen by the Board of Trustees to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The bill would distinguish the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the doctor of philosophy degree offered at the University of California. The bill would require the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program to be designed to enable professionals to earn the degree while working full time, train nurses for advanced practice, and prepare clinical faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs. The bill would require the California State University to enroll and maintain no more than 90 full-time equivalent students in the degree pilot program at all 3 campuses combined. The bill would require initial funding to come from existing budgets, without diminishing the quality of undergraduate programs or reducing enrollment therein. The bill would require the California State University, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Department of Finance to jointly conduct a statewide evaluation of the degree pilot program and report the results to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1, 2017.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the board to adopt a plan for promoting and improving student success within the California Community Colleges and to establish a taskforce to examine specified best practices and models for accomplishing student success. The bill would require the taskforce to develop and present specified recommendations to the board for incorporation into the plan to improve student success and completion within the California Community Colleges. The bill would require the board, prior to implementation of the plan, to report the contents of the plan, and the recommendations of the taskforce, to specified legislative committees by March 1, 2012.
Existing law prohibits the purchase, receipt, possession, or control of firearms for a period of 5 years by persons that have been admitted to a mental health facility on the basis of their being a threat to themselves or others or as a result of being certified for intensive treatment. Existing law requires a mental health facility that admits a person described above to immediately report specified information to the Department of Justice with respect to the person. This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2012, that those reports be submitted electronically, as specified.