2023 California Code › Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC › DIVISION 9 - PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES › PART 3 - AID AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE › CHAPTER 7 - Basic Health Care › ARTICLE 4 - The Medi-Cal Benefits Program › Section 14132.95.

14132.95. (a) Personal care services, when provided to a categorically needy person as defined in Section 14050.1 is a covered benefit to the extent federal financial participation is available if these services are:
(1) Provided in the beneficiary’s home and other locations as may be authorized by the director subject to federal approval.
(2) Authorized by county social services staff in accordance with a plan of treatment.
(3) Provided by a qualified person.
(4) Provided to a beneficiary who has a chronic, disabling condition that causes functional impairment that is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months or that is expected to result in death within 12 months and who is unable to remain safely at home without the services described in this section.
(b) The department shall seek federal approval of a state plan amendment necessary to include personal care as a Medicaid service pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 440.170 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations. For any persons who meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a) or (p), but for whom federal financial participation is not available for a service or services under this section, eligibility for the service or services shall be determined according to the waiver authorized pursuant to Section 14132.951. If federal financial participation for the service or services is not available under this section or Section 14132.951, eligibility for the service or services shall be determined pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3.
(c) Subdivision (a) shall not be implemented unless the department has obtained federal approval of the state plan amendment described in subdivision (b), and the Department of Finance has determined, and has informed the department in writing, that the implementation of this section will not result in additional costs to the state relative to state appropriation for in-home supportive services under Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, in the 1992–93 fiscal year.
(d) (1) For purposes of this section, personal care services shall mean all of the following:
(A) Assistance with ambulation.
(B) Bathing, oral hygiene and grooming.
(C) Dressing.
(D) Care and assistance with prosthetic devices.
(E) Bowel, bladder, and menstrual care.
(F) Skin care.
(G) Repositioning, range of motion exercises, and transfers.
(H) Feeding and assurance of adequate fluid intake.
(I) Respiration.
(J) Paramedical services.
(K) Assistance with self-administration of medications.
(2) Ancillary services including meal preparation and cleanup, routine laundry, shopping for food and other necessities, and domestic services may also be provided as long as these ancillary services are subordinate to personal care services. Ancillary services may not be provided separately from the basic personal care services.
(e) (1) (A) After consulting with the State Department of Social Services, the department shall adopt emergency regulations to establish the amount, scope, and duration of personal care services available to persons described in subdivision (a) in the fiscal year whenever the department determines that General Fund expenditures for personal care services provided under this section and expenditures of both General Fund moneys and federal funds received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for services pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, are expected to exceed the General Fund appropriation and the federal appropriation under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act provided for the 1992–93 fiscal year pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, as it read on June 30, 1992, as adjusted for caseload growth or as increased in the Budget Act or appropriated by statute. At least 30 days prior to filing these regulations with the Secretary of State, the department shall give notice of the expected content of these regulations to the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature.
(B) In establishing the amount, scope, and duration of personal care services, the department shall ensure that General Fund expenditures for personal care services provided for under this section and expenditures of both General Fund moneys and federal funds received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for services pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, do not exceed the General Fund appropriation and the federal appropriation under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act provided for the 1992–93 fiscal year pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, as it read on June 30, 1992, as adjusted for caseload growth or as increased in the Budget Act or appropriated by statute.
(C) For purposes of this subdivision, “caseload growth” means an adjustment factor determined by the department based on (1) growth in the number of persons eligible for benefits under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000) on the basis of their disability, (2) the average increase in the number of hours in the program established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 in the 1988–89 to 1992–93 fiscal years, inclusive, due to the level of impairment, and (3) any increase in program costs that is required by an increase in the mandatory minimum wage.
(2) In establishing the amount, scope, and duration of personal care services pursuant to this subdivision, the department may define and take into account, among other things:
(A) The extent to which the particular personal care services are essential or nonessential.
(B) Standards establishing the medical necessity of the services to be provided.
(C) Utilization controls.
(D) A minimum number of hours of personal care services that must first be assessed as needed as a condition of receiving personal care services pursuant to this section.
The level of personal care services shall be established so as to avoid, to the extent feasible within budgetary constraints, medical out-of-home placements.
(3) To the extent that General Fund expenditures for services provided under this section and expenditures of both General Fund moneys and federal funds received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for services pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 in the 1992–93 fiscal year, adjusted for caseload growth, exceed General Fund expenditures for services provided under this section and expenditures of both General Fund moneys and federal funds received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for services pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 in any fiscal year, the excess of these funds shall be expended for any purpose as directed in the Budget Act or as otherwise statutorily disbursed by the Legislature.
(f) Services pursuant to this section shall be rendered, under the administrative direction of the State Department of Social Services, in the manner authorized in Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, for the In-Home Supportive Services program. A provider of personal care services shall be qualified to provide the service and shall be a person other than a member of the family. For purposes of this section, a family member means a parent of a minor child or a spouse.
(g) The maximum number of hours available under the In-Home Supportive Services program pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, Section 14132.951, and this section, combined, shall be 283 hours per month.
(h) Personal care services shall not be provided to residents of facilities licensed by the department, and shall not be provided to residents of a community care facility or a residential care facility for the elderly licensed by the Community Care Licensing Division of the State Department of Social Services.
(i) Subject to any limitations that may be imposed pursuant to subdivision (e), determination of need and authorization for services shall be performed in accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3.
(j) (1) To the extent permitted by federal law, reimbursement rates for personal care services shall be equal to the rates in each county for the same mode of services in the In-Home Supportive Services program pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, plus any increase provided in the annual Budget Act for personal care services rates or included in a county budget pursuant to paragraph (2).
(2) (A) The department shall establish a provider reimbursement rate methodology to determine payment rates for the individual provider mode of service that does all of the following:
(i) Is consistent with the functions and duties of entities created pursuant to Section 12301.6.
(ii) Makes any additional expenditure of state general funds subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
(iii) Permits county-only funds to draw down federal financial participation consistent with federal law.
(B) This ratesetting method shall be in effect in time for any rate increases to be included in the annual Budget Act.
(C) The department may, in establishing the ratesetting method required by subparagraph (A), do both of the following:
(i) Deem the market rate for like work in each county, as determined by the Employment Development Department, to be the cap for increases in payment rates for individual practitioner services.
(ii) Provide for consideration of county input concerning the rate necessary to ensure access to services in that county.
(D) If an increase in individual practitioner rates is included in the annual Budget Act, the state-county sharing ratio shall be as established in Section 12306. If the annual Budget Act does not include an increase in individual practitioner rates, a county may use county-only funds to meet federal financial participation requirements consistent with federal law.
(3) (A) By November 1, 1993, the department shall submit a state plan amendment to the federal Health Care Financing Administration to implement this subdivision. To the extent that any element or requirement of this subdivision is not approved, the department shall submit a request to the federal Health Care Financing Administration for any waivers as would be necessary to implement this subdivision.
(B) The provider reimbursement ratesetting methodology authorized by the amendments to this subdivision in the 1993–94 Regular Session of the Legislature shall not be operative until all necessary federal approvals have been obtained.
(k) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall, by September 1, 1993, notify the following persons that they are eligible to participate in the personal care services program:
(A) Persons eligible for services pursuant to the Pickle Amendment, as adopted October 28, 1976.
(B) Persons eligible for services pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 1383c of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2) The State Department of Social Services shall, by September 1, 1993, notify persons to whom paragraph (1) applies and who receive advance payment for in-home supportive services that they will qualify for services under this section without a spend down of excess income if they elect to accept payment for services on an arrears rather than an advance payment basis.
(l) An individual who is eligible for services subject to the maximum amount specified in subdivision (b) of Section 12303.4 shall be given the option of hiring their own provider.
(m) The county welfare department shall inform in writing any individual who is potentially eligible for services under this section of their right to the services.
(n) It is the intent of the Legislature that this entire section be an inseparable whole and that no part of it be severable. If any portion of this section is found to be invalid, as determined by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, this section shall become inoperative.
(o) Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall be implemented so as to conform to federal law authorizing their implementation.
(p) (1) Personal care services shall be provided as a covered benefit to a medically needy aged, blind, or disabled person, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 14051, to the same extent and under the same requirements as they are provided under subdivision (a) of this section to a categorically needy, aged, blind, or disabled person, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 14050.1, and to the extent that federal financial participation is available.
(2) The department shall seek federal approval of a state plan amendment necessary to include personal care services described in paragraph (1) as a Medicaid service pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 440.170 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) In the event that the Department of Finance determines that expenditures of both General Fund moneys for personal care services provided under this subdivision to medically needy aged, blind, or disabled persons together with expenditures of both General Fund moneys and federal funds received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for all aged, blind, and disabled persons receiving in-home supportive services pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, in the 2000–01 fiscal year or in any subsequent fiscal year, are expected to exceed the General Fund appropriation and the federal appropriation received under Title XX of the federal Social Security Act for expenditures for all aged, blind, and disabled persons receiving in-home supportive services provided in the 1999–2000 fiscal year pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3, as it read on June 30, 1998, as adjusted for caseload growth or as changed in the Budget Act or by statute or regulation, then this subdivision shall cease to be operative on the first day of the month that begins after the expiration of a period of 30 days subsequent to a notification in writing by the Director of the Department of Finance to the chairperson of the committee in each house that considers appropriations, the chairpersons of the committees and the appropriate subcommittees in each house that consider the State Budget, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(4) Solely for purposes of paragraph (3), caseload growth means an adjustment factor determined by the department based on:
(A) Growth in the number of persons eligible for benefits under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000) on the basis of their disability.
(B) The average increase in the number of hours in the program established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 in the 1994–95 to 1998–99 fiscal years, inclusive, due to the level of impairment.
(C) Any increase in program cost that is required by an increase in hourly costs pursuant to the Budget Act or statute.
(5) In the event of a final judicial determination by any court of appellate jurisdiction or a final determination by the Administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that personal care services must be provided to any medically needy person who is not aged, blind, or disabled, then this subdivision shall cease to be operative on the first day of the first month that begins after the expiration of a period of 30 days subsequent to a notification in writing by the Director of Finance to the chairperson of the committee in each house that considers appropriations, the chairpersons of the committees and the appropriate subcommittees in each house that consider the State Budget, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(6) If this subdivision ceases to be operative, all aged, blind, and disabled persons who would have been eligible to receive services under this section shall be immediately eligible for services under the IHSS Plus waiver authorized pursuant to Section 14132.951, if otherwise eligible, upon this section becoming inoperative. If this section becomes inoperative and a person is ineligible for the IHSS Plus waiver, then eligibility shall be determined under the In-Home Supportive Services program pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 42, Sec. 146. (AB 118) Effective July 10, 2023.)