Covered California Plans to Offer Expanded Children’s Dental Services and New Coverage for Adults in 2015

In 2015, Covered California will include pediatric dental benefits for members younger than 19 with an individual health plan. In addition to the pediatric dental benefits, Covered California will also offer new family dental plans to consumers who enroll in health coverage in 2015. 

The new family dental plans, which include dental HMO and PPO plans, are intended to offer affordable dental coverage to adults, which was not available in 2014. Families are not required to, but could choose to enroll children in the family dental plan. 

The new family dental plans will not be available at the start of open enrollment, which begins this year on s November 15, but instead will roll out by early 2015. Covered California will be notifying enrollees and providing additional information regarding the available pediatric dental benefits within the health insurance plans and the new family dental plans. 

Human Services

AB 2547 (Gaines) – Support
As Enrolled on August 8, 2014

AB 2547, by Assembly Member Beth Gaines, would allow Placer County to continue to operate their successful integrated, coordinated, and seamless approach to health and human services delivery in the County. 
Sponsored by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, AB 2547 makes the County’s Integrated Health and Human Services Pilot Program permanent. Operated in conjunction with the State, Placer County’s Integrated Health and Human Services Pilot Program serves as a model of family centered and needs-based delivery of services to children and families by providing blended education, mental health, probation, and child welfare services in a seamless team approach. In making this program permanent, the bill has been amended to remove obsolete evaluation and reporting requirements used in the prior pilot.

AB 2547 is enrolled and awaits the Governor‘s action.

Medi-Cal 

SB 1341 (Mitchell) – Support 
Enrolled on August 20, 2014 

SB 1341, by Senator Holly Mitchell, would codify the existing agreement between the Administration, Covered California, and the counties regarding the respective roles of the State Automated Welfare System (SAWS) and the California Health Eligibility Enrollment and Retention System (CalHEERS). 
Specifically, SB 1341:

• Specifies SAWS as the system of record for Medi-Cal and that SAWS shall contain all Medi-Cal eligibility rules and case management functionality. The bill permits the MAGI rules for Medi-Cal to continue to be housed in CalHEERS as they currently are; and,
• Requires that Notices of Action (NOAs) for Medi-Cal be programmed into the Medi-Cal system of record: the SAWS systems.

SB 1341 is enrolled and awaits the Governor’s action.

SB 1089 (Mitchell) – Support 
Enrolled on August 14, 2014

SB 1089, as amended by Senator Holly Mitchell, is sponsored by Los Angeles County and intended as a technical clean-up measure for AB 396 (Chapter 394, Statutes of 2011). AB 396 created a voluntary program that allows counties to draw down federal matching funds for the medical treatment of minors who are held in a juvenile justice facility and require hospitalization. SB 1089 seeks to clarify the county’s share of the costs and encourage the development of a claiming process.
SB 1089 is enrolled and awaits the Governor’s action. 

Mental Health 

SB 1054 (Steinberg) – Support 
Enrolled on August 21, 2014

SB 1054, by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, as now drafted, would extend a working group deadline for improving the collection of juvenile justice data as well as make several adjustments to the structure the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grants program – such as shortening the grant terms from four to three years — which was renewed in the 2014-15 budget.
SB 1054 is enrolled and awaits the Governor’s action.
Crisis Nurseries

AB 2228 (Cooley) – Support
As Amended on August 21, 2014

AB 2228, by Assembly Member Ken Cooley, would require crisis nurseries to be licensed by the State Department of Social Services to operate overnight programs and would authorize crisis nurseries to provide crisis day services. AB 2228 would also establish the maximum licensed capacity for a crisis residential overnight program at 14 children and establish that the maximum licensed capacity for crisis day services is based on 35 square feet of activity space per child. 

Crisis nurseries provide short-term care and supervision for children under six years of age who are voluntarily placed for temporary care by a parent or legal guardian due to a family crisis or stressful situation. This bill ensures the safety and well-being of these young children, who require proper supervision and adequate space in a high-quality supervised environment. 

CSAC supports AB 2228, which is currently awaiting action on the Senate Floor.