Section 14043.46.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on the effective date of the act adding this section, the department may implement a one-year moratorium on the certification and enrollment into the Medi-Cal program of new adult day health care centers on a statewide basis or within a geographic area.

(b) The moratorium shall not apply to the following:

(1) Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) established pursuant to Chapter 8.75 (commencing with Section 14590).

(2) An organization that currently holds a designation as a federally qualified health center as defined in Section 1396d(l)(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(3) An organization that currently holds a designation as a federally qualified rural health clinic as defined in Section 1396d(l)(1) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(4) An applicant with the physical location of the center in an unserved area, which is defined as a county having no licensed and certified adult day health care center within its geographic boundary.

(5) Commencing May 1, 2006, an applicant for certification that meets all of the following:

(A) Is serving persons discharged into community housing from a nursing facility operated by the City and County of San Francisco.

(B) Has submitted, after December 31, 2005, but prior to February 1, 2006, an application for certification that has not been denied.

(C) Meets all criteria for certification imposed under this article and is licensed as an adult day health care center pursuant to Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 1570) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(6) An applicant that is requesting expansion or relocation, or both, that has been Medi-Cal certified as an adult day health care center for at least four years, is expanding or relocating within the same county, and that meets one of the following population-based criteria as reported in the California Long Term Care County Data Book, 2002:

(A) The county is ranked number one or two for having the highest ratio of persons over 65 years of age receiving Medi-Cal benefits.

(B) The county is ranked number one or two for having the highest ratio of persons over 85 years of age residing in the county.

(C) The county is ranked number one or two for having the greatest ratio of persons over 65 years of age living in poverty.

(7) An applicant for certification that is currently licensed and located in a county with a population that exceeds 9,000,000 and meets the following criteria:

(A) The applicant has identified a special population of regional center consumers whose individual program plan calls for the specialized health and social services that are uniquely provided within the adult day health care center, in order to prevent deterioration of the special population's health status.

(B) The referring regional center submits a letter to the Director of Health Services supporting the applicant for certification as an adult day health care provider for this special population.

(C) The applicant is currently providing services to the special population as a vendor of the referring regional center.

(D) The participants in the center are clients of the referring regional center and are not residing in a health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (c), (d), (g), (h), or (k) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) The moratorium shall not prohibit the department from approving a change of ownership, relocation, or increase in capacity for an adult day health care center if the following conditions are met:

(1) For an application to change ownership, the adult day health care center meets all of the following conditions:

(A) Has been licensed and certified prior to the effective date of this section.

(B) Has a license in good standing.

(C) Has a record of substantial compliance with certification laws and regulations.

(D) Has met all requirements for the change application.

(2) For an application to relocate an existing facility, the relocation center must meet all of the conditions of paragraph (1) and both of the following conditions:

(A) Must be located in the same county as the existing licensed center.

(B) Must be licensed for the same capacity as the existing licensed center, unless the relocation center is located in an underserved area, which is defined as a county having 2 percent or fewer Medi-Cal beneficiaries over the age of 65 years using adult day health care services, based on 2002 calendar year Medi-Cal utilization data.

(3) For an application to increase the capacity of an existing facility, the center must meet all of the conditions of paragraph (1) and must be located in an underserved area, which is defined as a county having 2 percent or fewer Medi-Cal beneficiaries over the age of 65 years using adult day health care services, based on 2002 calendar year Medi-Cal utilization data.

(d) Following the first 180 days of the moratorium period, the department may make exceptions to the moratorium for new adult day health care centers that are located in underserved areas if the center's application was on file with the department on or before the effective date of the act adding this section. In order to apply for this exemption, an applicant or licensee must meet all of the following criteria:

(1) The applicant has control of a facility, either by ownership or lease agreement, that will house the adult day health care center, has provided to the department all necessary documents and fees, and has completed and submitted all required fingerprinting forms to the department.

(2) The physical location of the applicant's or licensee's adult day health care center is in an underserved area, which is defined as a county having 2 percent or fewer Medi-Cal beneficiaries over the age of 65 years using adult day health care services, based on 2002 calendar year Medi-Cal utilization data.

(e) During the period of the moratorium, a licensee or applicant that meets the criteria for an exemption as defined in subdivision (d) may submit a written request for an exemption to the director.

(f) If the director determines that a new adult day health care licensee or applicant meets the exemption criteria, the director may certify the licensee or applicant, once licensed, for participation in the Medi-Cal program.

(g) The director may extend this moratorium, if necessary, to coincide with the implementation date of the adult day health care waiver.

(h) The authority granted in this section shall not be interpreted as a limitation on the authority granted to the department in any other section.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 188, Sec. 46. Effective August 24, 2007.)