(a) The department shall develop and implement a program to provide a community-living support benefit to eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The department shall submit any waiver application, modification of any existing waiver, or amendment to the Medicaid state plan, that is necessary to provide this benefit, and shall implement the benefit only to the extent that federal financial participation is available.
(b) The community-living support benefit shall include both of the following:
(1) (A) Reimbursement for an array of health-related and psychosocial services provided or coordinated at community-based housing sites that enable beneficiaries to remain in the least restrictive and most homelike environment while receiving the health-related services, including personal care and psychosocial services, necessary to protect their health and well-being. These community-based housing units may include, but are not limited to, the living area or unit within a facility that is specifically designed to provide ongoing assisted living services, licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, publicly funded senior and disabled housing projects, or supportive housing sites that serve chronically homeless individuals with chronic or disabling health conditions.
(B) For purposes of this section, “assisted living services” includes, but is not limited to, assistance with personal activities of daily living, including dressing, feeding, toileting, bathing, grooming, mobility, and associated tasks, to help provide for and maintain physical and psychological comfort.
(2) Access to community-living support services provided or coordinated at the community-based housing site, including, but not limited to, the personal care and health services specified in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 1788 of the Health and Safety Code, and the health related support services specified in Section 53290 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) Services available through the community-living support benefit shall not duplicate services available through the Medi-Cal state plan, other Medi-Cal waivers, or other programs financed by the state.
(d) An individual shall be eligible for the community-living support benefit if he or she is eligible for the Medi-Cal program, is a resident of San Francisco who would otherwise be homeless, living in shelters, or institutionalized, and meets one or both of the following criteria:
(1) The department determines that he or she would benefit from supportive housing, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 53260 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) The department determines that he or she is eligible for placement in a skilled nursing facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, or an intermediate care facility, as defined in subdivision (d) of that section.
(e) The department may modify the eligibility criteria specified in subdivision (d), if needed, to qualify the community-living support benefit for federal financial participation.
(f) The department shall seek to maximize resources for community-based housing by coordinating the community-living support benefit with existing efforts to coordinate care, improve health outcomes, and reduce long-term care costs for the targeted population.
(g) This section shall be implemented only upon adoption of a resolution by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco providing county funds for use by the state to match federal Medicaid funds to receive federal funds for services provided under the waiver specified in this section, and for any costs associated with implementing and monitoring the waiver, to limit additional state costs.
(h) The program described in this section shall be discontinued effective July 1, 2017.
(1) Commencing on or after January 1, 2017, the department shall do the following:
(A) Notify program stakeholders and program participants that the program will be discontinued effective July 1, 2017, and that program participants will be assisted in transitioning to other services, including, but not limited to, other ongoing waiver programs.
(B) Discontinue enrolling new participants in the program.
(C) Begin transitioning all existing program participants to other services, including, but not limited to, other ongoing waiver programs.
(2) Subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) shall be implemented only to the extent that any necessary federal approvals are obtained and federal financial participation is available for the other programs and services into which the existing program participants will be transferred.
(i) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018, and, as of January 1, 2019, is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 52, Sec. 47. (SB 97) Effective July 10, 2017. Inoperative July 1, 2018. Repealed as of January 1, 2019, by its own provisions.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018