Medi-Cal
SB 1414 by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) was placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file (StateNet, Subscription required). Appropriations committee members can vote to send to the suspense file legislation that would have a financial impact of at least $150,000 in any fiscal year or establish pilot projects or programs that would have a financial impact of at least $150,000 over the life of the program. The committee chair with two days notice can call a vote on the bill (Senate Appropriations Committee Rules of Procedure). The legislation was amended to include a provision that would allocate funding from the California Fair Share Health Care Fund to Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and the Access for Infants and Mothers program. The bill would require employers with more than 10,000 employees in California to spend a percentage of their payrolls 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, 5/11).
AB 2979 by Assembly member Keith Stuart Richman (R-Granada Hills) was amended to authorize the Department of Health Services to launch a Medicare HMO Wraparound pilot project that would provide a coordinated system of care and benefits for state residents dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal who also are receiving Medicare and Medi-Cal HMO Wraparound benefits. The bill would authorize the pilot project until Jan. 1, 2013. The amended bill eliminates a provision that would have ensured continuous coverage for beneficiaries while DHS examined more flexible managed care models that include services offered by Medi-Cal and Medicare (Bill text, 5/15). The bill was re-referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and a hearing is scheduled for May 24 (Bill history, 5/17).