Assembly Bill (AB) 85
Signed into law by Governor Brown on June 27, 2013. AB 85 concerns such counties of the state of California as Placer, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, Santa Barbara, Merced, Stanislaus, Orange, Yolo, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and Tulare (Article 13 counties). Public Hospital Counties participating in the program are Monterey, Kern, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, San Francisco, Riverside, San Mateo, Venture and San Bernandino. The county of Los Angeles will also take part in the program, but its approach is slightly different. AB 85 is a health care services federal law that expects the above mentioned counties to reduce costs spent to cover health care services for the needy populations. The Assembly Bill is designed to reconstruct the approach towards the disposition of funds directed at covering healthcare services for the indigent groups of people since some of these individuals receive opportunities to be covered with the help of such medical services programs as Exchange and Medi-Cal. Assembly Bill 85 serves as a mechanism to determine the costs that are to be redirected in order to fund other programs for social services.
Allocation of Federal Funds
AB 85 is directed at allocation of federal funds in the eligible states. The program employed for the fund allocation is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also known as TANF. The version of this program enforced in the state of California is called California Work Opportunity and Responsibility for Kids or CalWORKs. AB 85 “would increase aid payments by 5% as of March 1, 2014 and would specify a process by which additional grant increases could be made depending on projected revenue and costs” (Assembly Bill No. 85, 2013). CalWORKS is the program responsible to provide cash assistance for each of the participating counties of California. Its purpose is to restructure and re-evaluate funds allocation in order to provide benefits to low-income citizens and families qualified for social services programs.
Local Revenue Fund
Local Revenue Fund established by AB 85 is an appropriated fund of continuous character. This fund is determined to allocated funds coming from sales taxes and Vehicle License Fund. A variety of subaccounts are created within this fund. Some of these subaccounts are founded especially for health care and social services. They will receive money from Local Revenue Fund. “Under the existing law, cities and counties that receive fund from the local revenue fund are required to establish and maintain a local health and welfare trust fund comprised of specified accounts” (Assembly Bill No. 85, 2013). AB 85 also obliges the involved cities and counties to establish accounts supporting family in within the welfare and health trust accounts. This way, Assembly Bill number 85 plays a role of a state-mandated program of local character directed as the improvement of health care and social services.
The beneficiaries of the law
- Low-income families and individuals
- Poverty affected children, parents and pregnant women
- Elderly people
- Financially vulnerable groups of people
Since a number of social and health program participants can be covered by newly developed policies, the remaining funds will be calculated and redirected to cover other needy groups of people. All of the counties are obliged to use special formula-based approach towards the amounts of redirected costs. Assembly Bill 85 states that “60% of health realignment will be redirected” (Assembly Bill (AB) 85, 2014). Some of the groups of counties will be given an choice and will have to decide if they would redirect 60% of health realignment or to employ the formula and redirect 80%.
Reference List
Assembly Bill (AB) 85. (2014). DHCS. Web.
Assembly Bill No. 85. (2013). Leginfo. Web.