Medi-Cal
AB 1840 by Assembly member Jerome Horton was read in the Senate and sent to the rules committee for assignment (Bill status, 6/1). The bill would require the Department of Health Services and Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to report to the Legislature by March 15, 2007, businesses that employ at least 25 workers who are beneficiaries of public health insurance programs. The bill also would require public disclosure of the report (Bill text, 1/11).
SB 676 by Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) was amended to authorize DHS to establish per diem or bundled reimbursement rates for eligible pharmacies that provide home infusion supplies and services. The bill would require DHS to ensure that intravenous or infusion drugs provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries are reimbursed in a way that encourages appropriate and continuous care (Bill text, 6/5). An Assembly Health Committee hearing was scheduled for June 13 (StateNet, Subscription required).
SB 1414 by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) was read in the Senate for the first time but was not assigned to a committee (Bill status, 6/5). The bill would require employers with more than 10,000 employees in California to spend a percentage of their payroll on health care benefits. If employers spend less than the specified percentage, they would have to contribute the difference to the state to help fund public health insurance programs (Bill text, 5/26).
AB 1948 by Assembly member Cindy Montanez (D-Mission Hills) was read in the Senate for the first time and sent to the Rules Committee for assignment (Bill status, 6/1). The bill would require DHS to study the feasibility of using an electronic application to allow a person, on behalf of a child, to simultaneously pre-enroll and apply for enrollment in Medi-Cal or Healthy Families without submitting a follow-up application. The bill would require the study to be submitted to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2008 (Bill text, 5/30).