Indigent health care: information and planning.

Existing law requires each county to provide aid, commonly known as a general assistance program, to the county's indigent residents who are not supported by other means and are ineligible for the Medi-Cal program, as specified. Existing law sets forth various provisions relating to county-based health care services for indigent individuals and to reporting systems for those services. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, by July 1, 2027, to establish an internet website where the public can access information on safety-net health care services in the state. The bill would require that the website include certain information and resources, including, among other items, information about each county medically indigent health care program for uninsured individuals. The bill would require the department, in consultation with certain entities, to review the information and resources on the website, as specified. The bill would require each county, no later than January 1, 2028, to prepare and submit to the department a plan to operate programs to provide health care to medically indigent individuals, as necessary to meet additional need due to reduced access to health care coverage. The bill would require that the plan include information on projected caseload and expenditure increases, projected investment, and assessment of funding sources, as specified. By creating new planning duties for counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.