14724.
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 14708, 14718, and 14723, and subdivisions (e) and (f) of Section 14711, the department, in consultation with the California Behavioral Health Directors Association and representatives of counties, shall design and implement an intergovernmental transfer program relating to Medi-Cal specialty mental health benefits provided by county mental health plans to fund the nonfederal share of supplemental payments, as permitted under Section 433.51 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or any other applicable federal Medicaid program laws, and to replace claiming based on certified public expenditures. Upon providing any intergovernmental transfer of funds, each transferring entity shall certify that the transferred funds qualify for federal financial participation pursuant to applicable federal Medicaid program laws, and in the form and manner specified by the department. The total intergovernmental transfer-funded payment amount, which includes the federal and nonfederal share, paid to a county shall be retained by the county and used for providing Medi-Cal specialty mental health services under the Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services Program.(b) This section shall be implemented on July 1, 2021, or the date on which all necessary federal approvals have been received, whichever is later, and only to the extent intergovernmental transfers from counties are provided for this purpose.
(c) Participation in the intergovernmental transfer program under this section is voluntary on the part of the transferring entities for the purposes of all applicable federal laws.
(d) This section shall be implemented only to the extent federal financial participation is available for any reimbursement and federal financial participation is not jeopardized.
(e) If the director determines that the payments do not comply with federal Medicaid program requirements, the director shall not implement an intergovernmental transfer program and may adjust payments as necessary to comply with federal Medicaid program requirements.
(f) 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 letters, information notices, or similar instructions, without taking further regulatory action.
(g) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, by January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the department shall provide a status update on the implementation of this section to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.