(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), any adult eligible for benefits under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) shall be eligible for adult day health care services if that person meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The person is 18 years of age or older and has one or more chronic or postacute medical, cognitive, or mental health conditions, and a physician, nurse practitioner, or other health care provider has, within his or her scope of practice, requested adult day health care services for the person.
(2) The person has two or more functional impairments involving ambulation, bathing, dressing, self-feeding, toileting, transferring, medication management, and hygiene.
(3) (A) Except as provided under subparagraph (B), the person requires substantial human assistance in performing these activities.
(B) The persons described in subdivisions (b) and (c) shall only require assistance in performing these activities.
(4) The person requires ongoing or intermittent protective supervision, assessment, or intervention by a skilled health or mental health professional to improve, stabilize, maintain, or minimize deterioration of the medical, cognitive, or mental health condition.
(5) The person requires adult day health care services, as defined in Section 14550, that are individualized and planned, including, when necessary, the coordination of formal and informal services outside of the adult day health care program to support the individual and his or her family or caregiver in the living arrangement of his or her choice and to avoid or delay the use of institutional services, including, but not limited to, hospital emergency department services, inpatient acute care hospital services, inpatient mental health services, or placement in a nursing facility or a nursing or intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled providing continuous nursing care.
(6) The person meets the level of care set forth in Section 51120 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(b) A resident of an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled-habilitative shall be eligible for adult day health care services if that resident meets the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) and has disabilities and a level of functioning that are of such a nature that, without supplemental intervention through adult day health care, placement to a more costly institutional level of care would be likely to occur.
(c) Persons having chronic mental illness or moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive impairments shall be eligible for adult day health care services if they meet the criteria established in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
(d) This section shall only be implemented to the extent permitted by federal law.
(e) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department may implement the provisions of this section by means of all-county letters, provider bulletins, or similar instructions without taking further regulatory action.
(f) Prior to implementing this section, the department shall meet and confer with provider representatives, including, but not limited to, adult day health care, home- and community-based services, and nursing facilities for the purpose of presenting and discussing information and evidence to assist the department as it determines the methods and procedures necessary to implement this section.
(g) Upon the determination of the director that all necessary methods and procedures described in subdivision (f) have been ascertained and are sufficient to implement the purposes of this section, the director shall execute and retain a declaration indicating that this determination has been made. Subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive, shall be inoperative, until the date of execution of the declaration. Upon the date of execution of such a declaration, subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive of this section shall become operative and Section 14525 shall become inoperative.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 165, Sec. 1. (SB 117) Effective January 1, 2010. Subds. (a) to (e) are nonoperative as provided in subd. (g).)