This bill is part of the 2024 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.
SB 1511 (introduced by Committee on Health).
(1) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law defines a “group contract,” for purposes of the act, as a contract that by its terms limits the eligibility of subscribers and enrollees to a specified group.
This bill would clarify that reference to a “group” in the act does not include a Medi-Cal managed care contract between a health care service plan and the State Department of Health Care Services to provide benefits to beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal program.
(2) Existing law, the Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law, requires specified health care facilities to allow a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the health care facility, as defined, subject to certain restrictions. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to enforce the act. Existing law prohibits a general acute care hospital, as specified, from permitting a patient with a chronic disease to use medicinal cannabis.
This bill would authorize a general acute care hospital to allow a terminally ill patient, as defined, to use medicinal cannabis.
(3) Existing law establishes the Distressed Hospital Loan Program, administered by the Department of Health Care Access and Information, in order to provide interest-free cashflow loans to not-for-profit hospitals and public hospitals in significant financial distress or to governmental entities representing a closed hospital, except as otherwise provided, to prevent the closure of, or facilitate the reopening of, those hospitals. Existing law establishes the Distressed Hospital Loan Program Fund, with moneys in the fund being continuously appropriated for the department. Existing law authorizes the Department of Finance to transfer up to $150,000,000 from the General Fund and $150,000,000 from the Medi-Cal Provider Payment Reserve Fund to the Distressed Hospital Loan Program Fund in state fiscal year 2023–24 to implement the program. Existing law requires any funds transferred to be available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2026.
This bill would instead require any funds transferred to be available for encumbrance or expenditure until December 31, 2031. By extending the amount of time continuously appropriated funds are available for encumbrance and expenditure, this bill would make an appropriation.
(4) 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 by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes the Administrative Claiming process under which the department is authorized to contract with local governmental agencies and local educational consortia for the purpose of obtaining federal matching funds to assist with the performance of administrative activities relating to the Medi-Cal program that are provided by a local governmental agency or local educational agency (LEA).
Existing law requires the department to engage in specified activities relating to the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, including amending the Medicaid state plan to ensure that schools are reimbursed for all eligible services, consulting with specified entities in formulating state plan amendments, examining methodologies for increasing school participation in the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, and conducting an audit of a Medi-Cal Billing Option claim consistent with prescribed requirements, such as generally accepted accounting principles. Existing law requires the department to issue and regularly maintain a program guide for the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option program. Existing law requires the department to file an annual report with the Legislature that includes, among other things, a summary of department activities.
Existing law requires these activities to be funded and staffed by proportionately reducing federal Medicaid payments allocable to LEAs for the provision of benefits funded by the federal Medicaid program under the billing option for services by LEAs. Existing law directs moneys collected as a result of the reduction in federal Medicaid payments allocable to LEAs to be deposited into the Local Educational Agency Medi-Cal Recovery Fund to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only to support the department to meet all the requirements of the activities described above.
This bill would instead require that the department’s administration of the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option program be funded and staffed by these funds and would require moneys in the Local Educational Agency Medi-Cal Recovery Fund to be used, upon appropriation, only to support the department to meet all the requirements of administering the program.
(5) Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, provides for the involuntary commitment and treatment of a person who is a danger to others or to themselves, or who is gravely disabled. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2024, defines “gravely disabled,” for purposes of involuntary commitment, as either a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, severe substance use disorder, or a cooccurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care or who has been found mentally incompetent, as specified.
This bill would make conforming changes to related provisions for consistency with that definition of gravely disabled. The bill would also make technical changes.
(6) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health under the direction of the State Public Health Officer. Existing law requires a funeral director, or a person acting in lieu of a funeral director if there is no funeral director, to prepare a certificate of fetal death and register it with the local registrar. Existing law requires the funeral director to prepare and register a fetal death within 8 calendar days. Existing law requires an attending physician in attendance on the delivery of a fetus to state specified information on the certificate of fetal death concerning the time of fetal death or delivery. Existing law requires the attending physician to deposit the fetal death certificate within 15 hours after the fetal death. Existing law requires a coroner to state specified information on the certificate of fetal death concerning the time of fetal death. Existing law requires the coroner to deliver the death certificate to the attending funeral director within 3 days after examining the body.
This bill would require the department to regularly, but no less than annually, review fetal death registrations to determine compliance with existing timeframe requirements for fetal death registrations. The bill would require the department to notify the relevant licensing entity of an individual’s or entity’s repeated failures to timely comply with fetal death registration requirements, as specified.
(7) Existing law provides that a person with private health care coverage is not entitled to receive health care items or services furnished or paid for by a publicly funded health care program if those health care items or services are covered by that private health care coverage. Existing law entitles a publicly funded health care program that furnishes or pays for designated health care items or services to be subrogated to the rights that person has against the carrier of the coverage to the extent of the health care items provided or services rendered. Under existing law, an entity providing private health care coverage is required to, among other things, respond to inquiries of, and agree not to deny claims submitted by, the state or a provider, as defined, in connection with the provision of a health care item or service, as specified.
This bill would also require the entity providing private health care coverage to respond to, and agree not to deny claims submitted by, Medi-Cal managed care plans, as defined. The bill would also require, among other things, entities providing private health care coverage to request a refund of a claim paid in error from the State Department of Health Care Services within 3 years from the date of payment.
(8) This bill would make an additional technical, nonsubstantive change by renumbering a related provision.
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