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Health Services Department recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign a letter to Assembly Member Wesley Chesbro and the California Mental Health Directors Association in support of Assembly Bill 1297. This bill, developed and backed by the Honorable Wesley Chesbro, will bring the State’s requirements for Specialty Medi-Cal Mental Health Managed Care into alignment with Federal requirements, in order to maximize Federal reimbursement.
FUNDING: N/A.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: There is no Net County Cost associated with this letter of support. AB 1297, if passed, will improve reimbursement for Medi-Cal Specialty mental health services.
Background:
California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, provides general mental health care services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. However, for individuals with serious mental illnesses, county Mental Health Plans provide specialty mental health services under the “Specialty Medi-Cal Mental Health Managed Care” program. The features of the program are determined by the State’s federally-approved Medicaid state plan amendment and waivers. In addition to Federal requirements, California has established some state-only requirements that place restrictions on county Mental Health Plans, some of which needlessly limit the Federal Medicaid reimbursement available to the program. AB 1297 seeks to eliminate these burdensome, State-only requirements in order to ensure California (and individual counties) can access all available Federal resources.
AB 1297 clarifies that the State’s standards and guidelines for this program must be consistent with Federal Medicaid requirements and California’s approved Medicaid State plan and waivers in the following ways:
1) Federal Reimbursement Amounts - For purposes of Federal reimbursement, AB 1297 requires reimbursement amounts to be consistent with Federal Medicaid requirements and California’s approved Medicaid state plan and waivers. The goal of ...
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