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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05221990 - 1.4 (2) • 1-04® TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SE L f. Contra FROM: •�� � Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Costa County DATE: May 11 , 1990 SUBJECT: LEGISLATION - AB 3223 (Campbell) SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECONMENDATION Indicate that the Board of Supervisors continues to be the SPONSOR of AB 3223 by Assemblyman Campbell which would provide guaranteed eligibility for a woman who is pregnant when she joins the Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) or who becomes pregnant while a member of the CCHP for the balance of her pregnancy and for six months thereafter. BACKGROUND: on March 20 , 1990 the Board of Supervisors indicated that it was the sponsor of AB 3223 . On April 16 , 1990 the bill was amended. One of the major problems facing health care institutions today is the fact that many low income women do not seek or have access to prenatal medical care when they become pregnant. In far too many cases the woman presents herself at a hospital emergency room while in labor. This failure to seek proper prenatal care tends to lead to more problem pregnancies, more low birth weight babies and more babies with diseases which could have been treated better if they had been discovered earlier. The public frequently ends up paying for these cases for years into the future as the children require more attention, assistance and special services when they get into school, CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENTyeS YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE S: 2&ya If ACTION OF BOARD ON May 22, 1990 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. M CC: ATTESTED MAY 2 2 1990 PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Please see Page 2. SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR c M382 (10/88) BY DEPUTY 1 require more medical care than other children - which the parents often cannot afford, and are denied the opportunity to: live up to the potential he or she could have had. In addition, there are cases where a woman joins the Contra Costa Health Plan solely to cover the costs of delivery and then disenrolls, leaving. the Health Plan with all of the delivery costs and perhaps one or two months premiums from Medi-Cal to cover all of the attendant costs. In an effort to improve the health of the mother and child and reduce the financial burden on the Contra Costa Health Plan, Assemblyman Campbell has agreed to introduce AB 3223 which provides a woman who becomes pregnant while a member of the CCHP or who is pregnant at the time she joins the CCHP, continued Medi-Cal eligibility through the balance of the pregnancy and for a six month period thereafter. This will provide time to establish a continuity of care, hopefully provide adequate prenatal care and insure that the baby and mother have the best start in life possible. It will also insure that the Health Plan has more revenue with which to cover the costs of delivery, thereby making the Health Plan more viable financially. The April 16 , 1990 amendments provide an assurance that the woman has a choice as to whether to be locked-in to membership in the CCHP for a six month period by requiring that the woman be advised in writing that if she joins the CCHP while pregnant or if she becomes pregnant while a member of the CCHP she must remain in the CCHP for the duration of her pregnancy and a six-month period thereafter. The concept of this legislation is included in the Board' s 1990 Legislative Program. In view of the fact that Assemblyman Campbell has agreed to introduce AB 3223 on behalf of the Board of Supervisors it is appropriate for the Board to indicate that it continues to be the sponsor of AB 3223 . cc: Assemblyman Robert Campbell County Administrator Health Services Director Executive Director, CCHP Les Spahnn, SRJ. Jackson, Barish & Associates