California Assembly Bill AB847 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 847AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Mullin and Ridley-Thomas FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act relating to mental health. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 847, as amended, Mullin. Mental health: community-based services.  Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program and provides for specified services, including various mental health services. Existing federal law, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, requires the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services to, among other things, award, no later than January 1, 2016, planning grants to states for the purpose of developing proposals to participate in time-limited demonstration programs to improve mental health services provided by certified community behavioral health clinics to Medi-Cal beneficiaries.   This bill would require the department to apply to the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services for that planning grant.   Existing law establishes the State Department of Health Care Services and prescribes the department's powers and duties, including with respect to mental health services. Existing federal law, the Excellence in Mental Health Act, establishes criteria for the certification of federally qualified community behavioral health centers, and requires the administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration to certify centers that meet those criteria. The act also authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award matching grants to states to expend funds for the construction or modernization of facilities used to provide community-based mental health and substance abuse services.   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the State Department of Health Care Services to initiate planning and apply for one of those grants.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   The State Department of Health Care Services shall apply to the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services for the planning grant awarded pursuant to Section 223 of the federal Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 for the purpose of developing proposals to participate in time-limited demonstration programs to improve mental health services provided by certified community behavioral health clinics to Medi-Cal beneficiaries.   SECTION 1.   It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the State Department of Health Care Services to initiate planning and apply to the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services for a federal matching grant, under the federal Excellence in Mental Health Act, to expend funds for the construction or modernization of facilities used to provide community-based mental health and substance abuse services.