CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates 2021 Budget Priorities


Key Actions on CHC Budget Priorities

Wednesday (4/26/2021) afternoon, the Senate and Assembly held key budget meetings and took action on several CHC priorities. While there were some promising decisions made, we still have work to do!


Telehealth:
The Senate and Assembly took actions to reject the administration’s telehealth proposal and adopt the provisions of AB 32 (Aguiar-Curry) as trailer bill language (TBL). This is great news, our advocacy work will now be geared towards the Governor.

Health4All:
The Senate and Assembly adopted modified placeholder trailer bill language (TBL) to implement coverage for all adults over 50 effective May 2022.

Workforce/NEW $50M:
The Senate and Assembly took action to accept the administration’s proposal and guarantee this money would be exclusive to PRIMARY CARE residency. 

Supplemental Payment Pool (SPP):
Wednesday’s Senate and Assembly actions were focused on accepting/rejecting/holding open May Revise proposals from the administration. As a result, the legislature is yet to take action on this item. We are also hearing that conference committee may not be convened. The doubling of SPP was not included in the agreements that passed, and we are still advocating for inclusion of an additional $50M in this budget. Our advocacy ask continues to be that both the Senate and Assembly budget committee prioritize this important CHC issue as negotiations move forward and make sure that the SPP increase is in final budget package.
Please Take Action Now!  https://p2a.co/w4n4dU6

Postgraduate Training License (PTL):
While activity on this issue has focused on the Medical Board sunset review process we are engaging electeds to consider championing a fix to this in this budget cycle. We are excited by the promising dialog to address the PTL issue and we will continue to advocate the need for urgent action to make sure graduating residents can be working in our communities and current residents are supported in their training.
Please Take Action Now! https://p2a.co/w4n4dU6


CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates 2021 Sponsored Bills


SB 316 (Eggman): Same Day Visit

Currently, CHCs may bill for a behavioral health visit or a physical health visit in a 24hour period, but will not be reimbursed for both. This means that patients with a medically necessary behavioral health condition must wait 24 hours before they can be seen for a visit if they already obtained a physical health visit on that same day. This restriction undermines a clinic’s ability to provide or expand behavioral health services that are in even greater demand as a result of this pandemic. SB 316 would ensure that FQHCs and RHCs are adequately compensated for the care they provide and can continue to strengthen care coordination and integration for the millions of patients our systems serve.

Status: Now on the Senate Floor om Special Consent  

For more information on the State Budget or sponsored bills please contact Beth Malinowski, Director of Government Affairs, at Beth@healthplusadvocates.org.