AB 1655: Medi-Cal: beneficiary maintenance needs: personal needs allowance.

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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Qualified individuals under the Medi-Cal program include medically needy persons and medically needy family persons who meet the required eligibility criteria, including applicable income and share of cost requirements. Existing law prohibits medically needy persons or medically needy family persons from receiving health care services during any month in which their share of cost has not been met.

Existing law, for purposes of determining the share of cost for those medically needy persons or medically needy family persons, requires the department to establish income levels for maintenance need at the lowest levels that reasonably permit a medically needy individual to meet his or her basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, and for which federal financial participation will still be provided under applicable federal law. In calculating the income of a medically needy individual who is in a medical institution or nursing facility, or a person receiving institutional or noninstitutional services from a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly organization, the required monthly maintenance amount includes, among other things, an amount providing for the personal and incidental needs in an amount not less than $35 while a patient, and authorizes the department, by regulation, to increase this amount as necessitated by increasing costs of personal incidental needs. This amount is also referred to as the personal needs allowance.

This bill would increase the personal needs allowance amount from $35 to $80 per month while a person is a patient as described above, and instead would require the department to annually increase this amount based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index. Because counties are required to make Medi-Cal eligibility determinations, and this bill would expand eligibility by increasing the personal needs allowance and would increase the responsibility of counties in determining Medi-Cal eligibility, this bill would impose 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.