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SB-1002 Low-income individuals: eligibility determinations.(2013-2014)

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Enrolled  September 05, 2014
Passed  IN  Senate  August 25, 2014
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 20, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  August 18, 2014
Amended  IN  Senate  March 28, 2014

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1002


Introduced by Senator De León
(Coauthor: Senator Anderson)

February 13, 2014


An act to amend Section 14005.66 of, and to add Section 18901.05 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to low-income individuals.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1002, De León. Low-income individuals: eligibility determinations.
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 Program provisions.
Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county.
Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to seek any federal waivers necessary to use eligibility information of certain individuals who have been determined eligible for the CalFresh program to determine their eligibility for Medi-Cal.
This bill would also require the State Department of Health Care Services to seek any federal waivers necessary to use eligibility information of certain individuals who have been determined eligible for the CalFresh program to redetermine their eligibility for Medi-Cal. The bill would similarly require the State Department of Social Services to seek any federal waivers necessary to use eligibility information of individuals who have been determined eligible for the Medi-Cal program to determine or redetermine their CalFresh eligibility. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to consult with stakeholders in the implementation of this provision and would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement this provision by means of all-county letters or similar instructions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Approximately 35 percent of Medi-Cal recipients are potentially eligible to receive CalFresh benefits, but are not currently receiving those benefits.
(2) Only 77 percent of CalFresh recipients are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal despite the fact that the eligibility income threshold for Medi-Cal is higher than it is for CalFresh.
(3) Recent collaboration between the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and county human services agencies has resulted in the Express Lane Enrollment Project, which is an effort to utilize information in a CalFresh case file to determine eligibility for Medi-Cal. The Express Lane Enrollment Project has been very successful, resulting in more than 222,000 CalFresh recipients being enrolled into Medi-Cal.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to streamline enrollment and eligibility certification processes and procedures for CalFresh and Medi-Cal, both at initial enrollment and at renewal, to improve access to CalFresh and Medi-Cal, and to reduce administrative burdens on county agencies and applicant households.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14005.66 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

14005.66.
 The department shall seek any federal waivers necessary to use the eligibility information of individuals who have been determined eligible for the CalFresh program under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6, and who are under 65 years of age and are not disabled, to determine or redetermine their Medi-Cal eligibility.

SEC. 3.

 Section 18901.05 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18901.05.
 (a) The department shall seek any federal waivers necessary to use the eligibility information of individuals who have been determined eligible for Medi-Cal under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 to determine or redetermine their CalFresh eligibility.
(b) The department shall consult with stakeholders in the implementation of this section.
(c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (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 all-county letters or similar instructions.