(a) Each eligible public agency, as described in subdivision (b), may, in addition to reimbursement or other payments that the agency would otherwise receive for Medi-Cal specialty mental health services, receive supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement to the extent provided for in this section.
(b) A public agency shall be eligible for supplemental reimbursement only if it is a county, city, or city and county and if, consistent with Section 14718 it provides as a mental health plan, or subcontracts for, specialty mental health services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries pursuant to the Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Consolidation Waiver (Number CA.17), as approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(c) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), an eligible public agency’s supplemental reimbursement pursuant to this section shall be equal to the amount of federal financial participation received as a result of the claims submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f).
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in computing an eligible public agency’s reimbursement, in no instance shall the expenditures certified pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), when combined with the amount received from other sources of payment and with reimbursement from the Medi-Cal program, including expenditures otherwise certified for purposes of claiming federal financial participation, exceed 100 percent of actual, allowable costs, as determined pursuant to California’s Medicaid State Plan, for the specialty mental health services to which the expenditure relates. Supplemental payment may be made on an interim basis until the time when actual, allowable costs are finally determined.
(3) The supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement provided by this section shall be distributed under a payment methodology based on specialty mental health services provided to Medi-Cal patients by each eligible public agency, on a per-visit basis, a per-procedure basis, a time basis, in one or more lump sums, or on any other federally permissible basis. The department shall seek approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the payment methodology to be utilized, and shall not make any payment pursuant to this section prior to obtaining that federal approval.
(d) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to provide the supplemental reimbursement described in this section without any expenditure from the General Fund. The department may require an eligible public agency, as a condition of receiving supplemental reimbursement pursuant to this section, to enter into, and maintain, an agreement with the department for the purposes of implementing this section and reimbursing the department for the costs of administering this section.
(2) Expenditures submitted to the department for purposes of claiming federal financial participation under this section shall have been paid only with funds from the public agencies described in subdivision (b) and certified to the state as provided in subdivision (e).
(e) An eligible public agency shall do all of the following:
(1) Certify, in conformity with the requirements of Section 433.51 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that the claimed expenditures for the specialty mental health services are eligible for federal financial participation.
(2) Provide evidence supporting the certification as specified by the department.
(3) Submit data as specified by the department to determine the appropriate amounts to claim as expenditures qualifying for federal financial participation.
(4) Keep, maintain, and have readily retrievable, any records specified by the department to fully disclose reimbursement amounts to which the eligible public agency is entitled, and any other records required by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(f) (1) The department shall promptly seek any necessary federal approvals for the implementation of this section. If necessary to obtain federal approval, the program shall be limited to those costs that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determines to be allowable expenditures under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act (Subchapter 19 (commencing with Section 1396) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code). If federal approval is not obtained for implementation of this section, this section shall not be implemented.
(2) The department shall submit claims for federal financial participation for the expenditures described in subdivision (e) related to specialty mental health services that are allowable expenditures under federal law.
(3) The department shall, on an annual basis, submit any necessary materials to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide assurances that claims for federal financial participation will include only those expenditures that are allowable under federal law.
(g) (1) The director may adopt regulations as are necessary to implement this section. The adoption, amendment, repeal, or readoption of a regulation authorized by this subdivision shall be deemed to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe specific facts showing the need for immediate action.
(2) As an alternative to the adoption of regulations pursuant to paragraph (1), and notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the director may implement and administer this article, in whole or in part, by means of provider bulletins or similar instructions, without taking regulatory action, provided that no bulletin or similar instruction shall remain in effect after June 30, 2011. It is the intent that regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be in place on or before June 30, 2011.
(Added by renumbering Section 5783 by Stats. 2012, Ch. 34, Sec. 185. (SB 1009) Effective June 27, 2012. Operative July 1, 2012, by Sec. 254 of Ch. 34. Conditionally inoperative as provided in Section 14721.)