California Insurance Code 12693.98-12694
12693.98. (a) (1) The Medi-Cal-to-Healthy Families Bridge Benefits Program is hereby established to provide any child who meets the criteria set forth in subdivision (b) with a one calendar-month period of health care benefits in order to provide the child with an opportunity to apply for the Healthy Families Program established under Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 12693). (2) The Medi-Cal-to-Healthy Families Bridge Benefits Program shall be administered by the board and the State Department of Health Care Services. (b) (1) Any child who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for one calendar month of Healthy Families benefits funded by Title XXI of the Social Security Act, known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program: (A) He or she has been receiving, but is no longer eligible for, full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. (B) He or she is eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits with a share of cost. (C) He or she is under 19 years of age at the time he or she is no longer eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. (D) He or she has family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. (E) He or she is not otherwise excluded under the definition of "targeted low-income child" under subsections (b)(1)(B)(ii), (b)(1) (C), and (b)(2) of Section 2110 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Secs. 1397jj(b)(1)(B)(ii), 1397jj(b)(1)(C), and 1397jj(b)(2)). (2) The one calendar month of benefits under this chapter shall begin on the first day of the month following the last day of the receipt of benefits without a share of cost. (c) The income methodology for determining a child's family income, as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be the same methodology used in determining a child's eligibility for the full scope of Medi-Cal benefits. (d) The one calendar-month period of Healthy Families benefits provided under this chapter shall be identical to the scope of benefits that the child was receiving under the Medi-Cal program without a share of cost. (e) The one calendar-month period of Healthy Families benefits provided under this chapter shall only be made available through a Medi-Cal provider or under a Medi-Cal managed care arrangement or contract. (f) Except as provided in subdivision (j), nothing in this section shall be construed to provide Healthy Families benefits for more than a one calendar-month period under any circumstances, including the failure to apply for benefits under the Healthy Families Program or the failure to be made aware of the availability of the Healthy Families Program, unless the circumstances described in subdivision (b) reoccur. (g) (1) This section shall become operative on the first day of the second month following the effective date of this section, subject to paragraph (2). (2) Under no circumstances shall this section become operative until, and shall be implemented only to the extent that, all necessary federal approvals, including approval of any amendments to the State Child Health Plan have been sought and obtained and federal financial participation under the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program, as set forth in Title XXI of the Social Security Act, has been approved. (h) This section shall become inoperative if an unappealable court decision or judgment determines that any of the following apply: (1) The provisions of this section are unconstitutional under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution. (2) The provisions of this section do not comply with the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as set forth in Title XXI of the Social Security Act. (3) The provisions of this section require that the health care benefits provided pursuant to this section are required to be furnished for more than two calendar months. (i) If the State Child Health Insurance Program waiver described in Section 12693.755 is approved, and at the time the waiver is implemented, the benefits described in this section shall also be available to persons who meet the eligibility requirements of the program and are parents of, or, as defined by the board, adults responsible for, children enrolled to receive coverage under this part or enrolled to receive full-scope Medi-Cal services with no share of cost. (j) The one month of benefits provided in this section shall be increased to two months commencing on implementation of the waiver referred to in Section 12693.755. (k) This section shall cease to be implemented on the date that the Director of Health Care Services executes a declaration stating that implementation of the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program established pursuant to Section 12693.98a has commenced, and as of that date is repealed. 12693.98a. (a) (1) The Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program is hereby established to provide any child who meets the criteria set forth in subdivision (b) with presumptive eligibility benefits until the board has determined the child's eligibility for the Healthy Families Program. (2) The Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program shall be administered by the board. (b) (1) Any child who meets both of the following requirements shall be eligible for presumptive eligibility benefits under the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program: (A) He or she has been receiving, but is no longer eligible for, full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost, or he or she is eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits with a share of cost. (B) He or she otherwise appears to meet the income eligibility criteria for the Healthy Families Program. (2) The presumptive eligibility benefits under this section shall begin on the first day of the month following the last day of the receipt of Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. Presumptive eligibility benefits under this section shall terminate at the end of the month in which a child's effective date in the Healthy Families Program begins or the end of the month in which the board determines that the child is not eligible for the Healthy Families Program. If the board determines that the child is eligible for the Healthy Families Program, the board shall enroll the child in the Healthy Families Program without an interruption in coverage. If the board determines that the child is ineligible for the Healthy Families Program, the board shall terminate the child's benefits under the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program. (c) The income methodology for determining a child's family income for the purposes of the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program, as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), shall be the same methodology used in determining a child's eligibility for the full scope of Medi-Cal benefits. (d) The scope of presumptive eligibility benefits provided under the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program shall be identical to the scope of benefits that the child was receiving under the Medi-Cal program without a share of cost. (e) The presumptive eligibility benefits provided under this section shall only be made available through a Medi-Cal provider or under a Medi-Cal managed care arrangement or contract. (f) When an application is forwarded by the county to the Healthy Families Program, the county shall send the application to the Healthy Families Program via an electronic application format defined by the department, provided that the department has implemented the automated interfaces necessary to accomplish electronic submission of applications from the county to the Healthy Families Program without requiring duplicative data entry by the county. The transmission of the electronic application to the Healthy Families Program shall occur within the timeframes designated by the department. (g) To the extent necessary, the department and the board may exchange a child's case file solely for the purpose of determining the child's eligibility for the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program, without requiring the family's consent, to the extent allowed by federal law. Any information, including the child's case file, shall be kept confidential by the department and the board pursuant to state and federal law, and it shall be used only for the determination or continuation of eligibility. (h) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department shall implement this section by means of all-county letters or similar instructions, without taking any further regulatory action. Thereafter, the department may adopt regulations, as necessary, to implement this section in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (i) This section shall be implemented when the state has sought and obtained approval of any amendments to its state plan necessary to implement the changes to this section, pursuant to this act, and has obtained funding under Title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1397aa et seq.) for the provision of benefits under this section. Until the changes to this section, made by this act, are implemented, the Medi-Cal to Healthy Families Bridge Program established pursuant to Section 12693.98 shall remain in effect. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and only when all necessary federal approvals have been obtained by the state, this section shall be implemented only to the extent federal financial participation under Title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1397aa et seq.) is available to fund benefits provided under this section. (j) Upon implementation of the Healthy Families Presumptive Eligibility Program pursuant to this section, the Director of Health Care Services shall execute a declaration, which shall be retained by the director, stating that implementation of the section has commenced. 12693.981. (a) (1) The Healthy Families-to-Medi-Cal Bridge Benefits Program is hereby established to provide any person enrolled for coverage under this part who meets the criteria set forth in subdivision (b) with a two calendar-month period of health care benefits in order to provide the person with an opportunity to apply for Medi-Cal. (2) The Healthy Families-to-Medi-Cal Bridge Benefits Program shall be administered by the board. (b) (1) Any person who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for two additional calendar months of Healthy Families benefits: (A) He or she has been receiving, but is no longer eligible for, benefits under the program. (B) He or she appears to be income eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. (2) The two additional calendar months of benefits under this chapter shall begin on the first day of the month following the last day of the person's eligibility for benefits under the program. (c) The two-calendar-month period of Healthy Families benefits provided under this chapter shall be identical to the scope of benefits that the person was receiving under the program. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide Healthy Families benefits for more than a two calendar-month period under any circumstances, including the failure to apply for benefits under the Medi-Cal program or the failure to be made aware of the availability of the Medi-Cal program unless the circumstances described in subdivision (b) reoccur. (e) This section shall become inoperative if an unappealable court decision or judgment determines that any of the following apply: (1) The provisions of this section are unconstitutional under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution. (2) The provisions of this section do not comply with the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as set forth in Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act. (3) The provisions of this section require that the health care benefits provided pursuant to this section are required to be furnished for more than two calendar months. (f) The board shall cease to provide the benefits described in this section to any additional individuals on the date that the State Department of Health Care Services implements the presumptive eligibility program established pursuant to Section 14011.65b of the Welfare and Institutions Code and the Director of Health Care Services executes a declaration pursuant to subdivision (d) of that section stating that the program of presumptive eligibility has commenced. The board shall consult and coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services in implementing presumptive eligibility under Section 14011.65b of the Welfare and Institutions Code for these individuals. (g) This section shall be repealed six months after the board ceases to provide benefits to additional individuals pursuant to this section. 12693.982. For purposes of this chapter, "Medi-Cal" means the state health care program established pursuant to Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. 12694. (a) The board and the department, in collaboration with program offices for the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC or the WIC program), local WIC agencies, counties in their capacity of making Medi-Cal eligibility determinations, advocates, information technology specialists, and other stakeholders, shall design, promulgate, and implement policies and procedures for an automated enrollment gateway system developed by the department and the board that performs, but is not limited to performing, the following functions: (1) To the extent that federal financial participation is available, allowing children applying to the WIC program to submit a simple electronic application to simultaneously obtain presumptive eligibility for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families under Title XIX (42) U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and Title XXI (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) of the Social Security Act and apply for enrollment into the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program with the consent of their parent or guardian. (2) Modify the existing WIC enrollment system to obtain the minimum required data for enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families in order to provide an electronic transactional platform that is connected to the simple electronic application referenced in paragraph (1) and allowing for an interface between that application, the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System (MEDS), and the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program, as relevant. (3) Providing an automated real-time connection with MEDS for the purpose of checking an applicant's enrollment status. (4) Allowing for the electronic transfer of information to the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program, as relevant, for the purpose of making the final eligibility determination. (5) Checking, as relevant, available government databases for the purpose of electronically receiving information that is necessary to allow the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program to complete the eligibility determination. The department and the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board shall comply with all applicable privacy and confidentiality provisions under federal and state law. (b) The automated enrollment gateway system shall be constructed with the capacity to be used by entities operating the WIC program. (c) The WIC application process shall be modified to provide an electronic application described in subdivision (a), which shall contain the information necessary to apply for the automated enrollment gateway system, supplemented by information required to apply for enrollment into the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. (d) Benefits for applicants opting to simultaneously obtain presumptive eligibility for enrollment under this section shall continue until a final eligibility determination is made for the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program pursuant to Section 14011.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (e) Operation of the automated enrollment gateway system for the WIC program shall occur within a timely and appropriate period as determined by the department and the board, in consultation with the stakeholders as provided in subdivision (a) subject to a specific appropriation being provided for that purpose in the Budget Act or in subsequent legislation. The automated enrollment gateway system shall comply with all applicable confidentiality and privacy protection in federal and state law and regulation. (f) The WIC program shall collect income and residency information necessary for the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program documentation requirements for applications submitted through the automated enrollment gateway system. To the extent allowed by the federal government, the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs shall rely on income information obtained by WIC and upon the income verification process performed by WIC. The Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs shall collect and verify citizenship and immigration information as required under those programs. (g) Consistent with the provisions of this section, the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs may collect additional information needed to verify eligibility in those programs. (h) Counties shall accept and process for a Medi-Cal eligibility determination applications provided by the WIC gateway system and ensure timely processing of these applications and a timely eligibility determination and ending of presumptive eligibility. (i) The presumptive eligibility benefits provided under this section shall be identical to the benefits provided to children who receive full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost, and shall only be made available through a Medi-Cal provider. (j) The confidentiality and privacy protections set forth in Sections 10850 and 14100.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and all other confidentiality and privacy protections in federal and state law and regulation shall apply to all children and families using the automated enrollment gateway system as described in this section. (k) The state shall promote and offer support to the WIC program for the use of the simple electronic application and the automated enrollment gateway system. (l) The board shall seek approval of any amendments to the state plan necessary to implement this section, in accordance with Title XXI (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1397aa et seq.) of the federal Social Security Act. (m) The department shall seek approval of any amendments to the state plan necessary to implement this section, in accordance with Title XIX (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) of the federal Social Security Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, only when all necessary federal approvals have been obtained shall this section be implemented.
