5072
. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State Department
of Health Care Services may develop a process to maximize federal
financial participation for the provision of acute inpatient hospital
services rendered to individuals who, but for their institutional
status as inmates, are otherwise eligible for Medi-Cal pursuant to
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code or a Low Income Health Program
(LIHP) pursuant to Part 3.6 (commencing with Section 15909) of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) Federal reimbursement for acute inpatient hospital services
for inmates enrolled in Medi-Cal shall occur through the State
Department of Health Care Services and federal reimbursement for
acute inpatient hospital services for inmates not enrolled in
Medi-Cal but who are eligible for a LIHP shall occur through a county
LIHP.
(c) (1) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, in conjunction with the State Department of Health
Care Services, shall develop a process to claim federal financial
participation and to reimburse the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation for the federal share of the allowable Medicaid cost
provision of acute inpatient hospital services rendered to inmates
according to this section and for any administrative costs incurred
in support of those services.
(2) Public or community hospitals shall invoice the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain reimbursement for acute
inpatient hospital services in accordance with contracted rates of
reimbursement, or if no contract is in place, the rates pursuant to
Section 5023.5. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
shall reimburse a public or community hospital for the delivery of
acute inpatient hospital services rendered to an inmate pursuant to
this section. For individuals eligible for Medi-Cal pursuant to this
section, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
submit a quarterly invoice to the State Department of Health Care
Services for claiming federal participation at the Medi-Cal rate for
acute inpatient hospital services. For enrollees in the LIHP, the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall submit a quarterly
invoice to the county of last legal residence pursuant to Section
14053.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The county shall submit
the invoice to the State Department of Health Care Services for
claiming federal financial participation for acute inpatient hospital
services for individuals made eligible pursuant to this section,
pursuant to Section 14053.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
pursuant to the process developed in subdivision (b). The State
Department of Health Care Services shall claim federal participation
for eligible services for LIHP enrolled inmates at the rate paid by
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The State
Department of Health Care Services and counties shall remit funds
received for federal participation to the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation for allowable costs incurred as a result of
delivering acute inpatient hospital services allowable under this
section.
(3) The county LIHPs shall not experience any additional net
expenditures of county funds due to the provision of services under
this section.
(4) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
reimburse the State Department of Health Care Services and counties
for administrative costs that are not reimbursed by the federal
government.
(5) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
reimburse the State Department of Health Care Services for any
disallowance that is required to be returned to the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services for any litigation costs incurred due
to the implementation of this section.
(d) (1) The state shall indemnify and hold harmless participating
entities that operate a LIHP, including all counties, and all
counties that operate in a consortium that participates as a LIHP,
against any and all losses, including, but not limited to, claims,
demands, liabilities, court costs, judgments, or obligations, due to
the implementation of this section as directed by the secretary and
the State Department of Health Care Services.
(2) The State Department of Health Care Services may at its
discretion require a county, as a condition of participation as a
LIHP, to enroll an eligible inmate into its LIHP if the county is the
inmate's county of last legal residence.
(3) The county LIHPs shall be held harmless by the state for any
disallowance or deferral if federal action is taken due to the
implementation of this section in accord with the state's policies,
directions, and requirements.
(e) (1) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in
conjunction with the State Department of Health Care Services, shall
develop a process to facilitate eligibility determinations for
individuals who may be eligible for Medi-Cal or a LIHP pursuant to
this section and Section 14053.7 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(2) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall assist
inmates in completing either the Medi-Cal or LIHP application as
appropriate and shall forward that application to the State
Department of Health Care Services for processing.
(3) Notwithstanding any other state law, and only to the extent
that federal law allows and federal financial participation is
available, for the limited purpose of implementing this section, the
department or its designee is authorized to act on behalf of an
inmate for purposes of applying for or determinations of Medi-Cal or
LIHP eligibility.
(f) (1) This section does not restrict or limit the eligibility or
alter county responsibility for payment of any service delivered to
a parolee who has been released from detention or incarceration and
now resides in a county that participates in the LIHP. If otherwise
eligible for the county's LIHP, the LIHP shall enroll the parolee.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), at the option of the state, for
enrolled parolees who have been released from detention or
incarceration and now reside in a county that participates in a LIHP,
the LIHP shall reimburse providers for the delivery of services
which are otherwise the responsibility of the state to provide.
Payment for these medical services, including both the state and
federal shares of reimbursement, shall be included as part of the
reimbursement process described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
(3) Enrollment of individuals in a LIHP under this subdivision
shall be subject to any enrollment limitations described in
subdivision (h) of Section 15910 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(g) The department shall be responsible to the LIHP for the
nonfederal share of any reimbursement made for the provision of acute
inpatient hospital services rendered to inmates pursuant to this
section.
(h) Reimbursement pursuant to this section shall be limited to
those acute inpatient hospital services for which federal financial
participation pursuant to Title XIX of the federal Social Security
Act is allowed.
(i) This section shall have no force or effect if there is a final
judicial determination made by any state or federal court that is
not appealed, or by a court of appellate jurisdiction that is not
further appealed, in any action by any party, or a final
determination by the administrator of the federal Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, that limits or affects the department'
s authority to select the hospitals used to provide inpatient
hospital services to inmates.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature that the implementation of
this section will result in state General Fund savings for the
funding of acute inpatient hospital services provided to inmates
along with any related administrative costs.
(k) Any agreements entered into under this section for Medi-Cal or
a LIHP to provide for reimbursement of acute inpatient hospital
services and administrative expenditures as described in subdivision
(c) shall not be subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of
Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
(l) This section shall be implemented in a manner that is
consistent with federal Medicaid law and regulations. The Director of
the State Department of Health Care Services shall seek any federal
approvals necessary for the implementation of this section. This
section shall be implemented only when and to the extent that any
necessary federal approval is obtained, and only to the extent that
existing levels of federal financial participation are not otherwise
jeopardized.
(m) To the extent that the Director of the State Department of
Health Care Services determines that existing levels of federal
financial participation are jeopardized, this section shall no longer
be implemented.
(n) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the State
Department of Health Care Services may, without taking any further
regulatory action, implement this section by means of all-county
letters, provider bulletins, facility letters, or similar
instructions.
(o) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) The term "county of last legal residence" means the county in
which the inmate resided at the time of arrest that resulted in
conviction and incarceration in a state prison facility.
(2) The term "inmate" means an adult who is involuntarily residing
in a state prison facility operated, administered, or regulated,
directly or indirectly, by the department.
(3) During the existence of the receivership established in United
States District Court for the Northern District of California, Case
No. C01-1351 TEH, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, references in this section
to the "secretary" shall mean the receiver appointed in that action,
who shall implement portions of this section that would otherwise be
within the secretary's responsibility.