FY 1999-00 BUDGET: Gov. Davis Signs Three Health Bills
Gov. Gray Davis yesterday signed three budget trailer bills designed to improve health and human services for FY 1999-2000. AB 1107 by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) expands eligibility for Healthy Families to 250% of the federal poverty level, rendering an additional 172,000 children eligible. It also expands Medi-Cal eligibility to two parent, working families earning up to 100% of the federal poverty level, simplifies the Medi-Cal application and provides tax write-offs for the cost of health insurance for the self-employed. Finally, it implements the governor's Medi-Cal fraud and abuse prevention program. AB 1111, sponsored by Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley), provides a 2.6% cost-of-living adjustment for all foster care providers for this year and next, enables the establishment of local offices to handle complaints and creates a public health nursing program within child welfare services. SB 708, authored by the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, caps funding for long term care services to undocumented persons at the amount necessary to serve 110% of next year's caseload. It also clarifies rules to ensure that all legal immigrants are entitled to five years of the Cash Assistance for Immigrants program and provides $1.2 million to Davis' Medi-Cal fraud and abuse prevention program (Office of the Governor release, 7/26).
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