AB 916
Version: Amended
Author: Perez V
BILL NUMBER: AB 916 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez
( Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano and Fuentes )
( Coauthor: Senator Leno )
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act relating to public health.An act to amend Section 1216
of, and to add and repeal Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 127645) of Part 2
of Division 107 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public
health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 916, as amended, V. Manuel Perez.
Promotores:
medicallyHealth: underserved
communities: federal
grants.communities.
Under existing law, the California Health and Human Services Agency is
required to establish an interdepartmental Task Force on Rural Health to
coordinate rural health policy development and program operations and to
develop a strategic plan for rural health.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
counties address the needs of underserved communities by maximizing the use of
nonprofit health providers that are critical to the health of farmworkers and
other individuals, as specified. This bill would establish the Task Force on
the Health Care Needs of Farmworkers, composed as prescribed, to develop a
comprehensive agenda of programs and public policy initiatives that are
designed to address the health care needs of farmworkers in California, and
provide a report containing specified information to the office of the Governor
and the State Department of Health Care Services by December 31, 2013. This
bill would provide that the task force is to be funded by federal or private
funds and that if, by January 1, 2013, the office of the Governor determines
that the task force has insufficient funding to carry out its activities, the
activities of the task force shall cease. This bill would repeal these
provisions as of January 1, 2014.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by
the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income
individuals receive health care services. Existing law provides that federally
qualified health center services, as defined, are covered benefits under the
Medi-Cal program.
Existing law requires every clinic holding a license to file annually with
the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development a verified report
showing prescribed information. Violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require all federally qualified health centers operated by
a county to file this report. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill
would create 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.
Existing law establishes training and certification programs for various
healing arts professionals including, among others, nurses, midwives,
occupational therapists, dietitians, and social workers.
This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to assess
the grants to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes available pursuant
to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for funding
opportunities related to the use of promotores, as defined, in medically
underserved communities, and to report on this assessment to the fiscal and
health policy committees of the Legislature by April 1, 2012, with
recommendations for attaining and maximizing federal funding.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local
program:
noyes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is this intent of the Legislature to ensure that counties
address the needs of underserved communities by maximizing the use of nonprofit
health providers that are critical to the health of farmworkers and other
individuals if county governments are given greater authority and control to
operate specific health programs through realignment by requiring that the
realignment includes all of the following:
(a) Minority communities being served shall be consulted and involved in
developing service delivery models and infrastructure.
(b) Nonprofit community-based organizations providing health care, social
services, and mental health services shall be included in the delivery of these
services to impacted and targeted communities.
(c) No reduction in the current role and scope of nonprofit organizations
in the operation of health programs.
(d) Priority to establishing partnerships between county government and
nonprofit organizations to effectively deliver coordinated services.
SEC. 2. Section 1216 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
1216. (a) Every clinic holding a license shall, on or before the 15th day of
February each year, file with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development upon forms to be furnished by the office, a verified report showing
the following information relating to the previous calendar year:
(1) Number of patients served and descriptive information, including age,
gender, race, and ethnic background of patients.
(2) Number of patient visits by type of service, including all of the
following:
(A) Child health and disability prevention
screens
screenings , treatment, and followup services.
(B) Medical services.
(C) Dental services.
(D) Other health services.
(3) Total clinic operating expenses.
(4) Gross patient charges by payer category, including Medicare, Medi-Cal, the
Child Health Disability Prevention Program, county indigent programs, other
county programs, private insurance, self-paying patients, nonpaying patients,
and other payers.
(5) Deductions from revenue by payer category, bad debts, and charity care
charges.
(6) Additional information as may be required by the office or the department.
(b) In the event a clinic fails to file a timely report, the department may
suspend the license of the clinic until the report is completed and filed with
the office.
(c) In order to promote efficient reporting of accurate data, the office shall
consider the unique operational characteristics of different classifications of
licensed clinics, including, but not limited to, the limited scope of services
provided by some specialty clinics, in its design of forms for the collection
of data required by this section.
(d) For the purpose of administering funds appropriated from the Cigarette and
Tobacco Products Surtax Fund for support of licensed clinics, clinics receiving
those funds may be required to report any additional data the office or the
department may determine necessary to ensure the equitable distribution and
appropriate expenditure of those funds. This shall include, but not be limited
to, information about the poverty level of patients served and communicable
diseases reported to local health departments.
(e) This section shall apply to all primary care clinics.
(f) This section shall apply to all specialty clinics, as defined in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code that
receive tobacco tax funds pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 30121)
of Chapter 2 of Part 13 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(g) Specialty clinics that are not required to report pursuant to subdivision
(f) shall report data as directed in Section 1216 as it existed prior to the
enactment of Chapter 1331 of the Statutes of 1989 and Chapter 51 of the
Statutes of 1990.
(h) Federally qualified health centers, as described in Section
1395x(aa)(4) or 1396d(l)(2)(B) of Title 42 of the United States Code, operated
by a county shall file the report described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 3. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 127645) is added to Part 2 of
Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code , to read:
CHAPTER 6. TASK FORCE ON THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF FARMWORKERS
127645. (a) The Task Force on the Health Care Needs of Farmworkers is
hereby established to develop a comprehensive agenda of programs and public
policy initiatives that are designed to address the health care needs of
farmworkers in California.
(b) The activities of the task force shall be funded by federal or private
funds. If, by January 1, 2013, the office of the Governor determines that the
task force has insufficient funding to carry out its activities pursuant to
this chapter, the activities of the task force shall cease.
(c) The task force shall be composed of 11 members. The members of the
task force shall be farmworker representatives, representatives from nonprofit
community health centers with an established record of serving farmworker
communities, representatives of growers, and representatives of philanthropic
foundations. The members shall be appointed as follows:
(1) The office of the Governor shall appoint five members.
(2) The Speaker of the Assembly and the President pro Tempore of the
Senate shall each appoint three members.
127646. The task force shall issue a report that shall be provided to the
State Department of Health Care Services and to the Governor by December 31,
2013, that includes all of the following:
(a) Strategies to create public and private partnerships between growers,
federal, state, and local government entities, nonprofit community health
centers, and farmworker community representatives for the purpose of
coordinating respective resources to create new initiatives to provide health
insurance, or equivalent coverage, for farmworkers who will not be covered by
the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148).
(b) A plan that coordinates county health care delivery systems to
integrate federally qualified health centers, as described in Section
1395x(aa)(4) or 1396d(l)(2)(B) of Title 42 of the United States Code, and
coordinates the systems to target farmworkers.
(c) A plan to increase the number of culturally competent health
professionals in underserved rural areas.
(d) A plan to expand telehealth care services.
(e) A plan to coordinate a network of providers to ensure a continuum of
health care as farmworkers migrate within and outside of the state.
(f) Long-term strategies for educating, training, and preparing workers
for other industries, including, but not limited to, green technology.
(g) Viable strategies for enabling farmworkers to purchase affordable
housing.
127647. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may
be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1. (a) The State Department of Public Health shall assess the
grants to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes available pursuant to
Section 399V of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public
Law 111-148) for funding opportunities related to the use of promotores, also
known as community health workers, in medically underserved communities. The
department shall report on this assessment to the fiscal and health policy
committees of the Legislature by April 1, 2012, with recommendations for
attaining and maximizing federal funding.
(b) The assessment made by the department pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall rely upon past research about the efficacy of promotores and the
department may not conduct new research.
(c) For purposes of this section, "promotores" means promotores de salud,
also known as community health workers, peer leaders, or health advocates, who
serve as a bridge between the community and the public health care system by
providing health education, health promotion, prevention, informational
counseling and referral information, as well as resources, in a manner that is
culturally and linguistically appropriate.
(d) (1) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section shall
remain in effect only until April 1, 2015, and as of that date is
repealed.