California lawmakers approved a health plan tax package Monday designed to continue pulling in more than a billion dollars in matching federal money, while committing several hundred million dollars to services for the developmentally disabled, debt relief and other programs.
The votes cap a yearlong process triggered by the July 1 expiration of an existing levy and the federal government’s demand that any extension must cover all managed care organizations, not just those that serve Medi-Cal managed care patients.
The final deal includes tax offsets designed to minimize any hit to health plans that could be passed on to consumers. In addition, to achieve enough Republican support, the package includes several components Republican lawmakers wanted, such as providing more money to help people with autism and other developmental disabilities and forgiving a budget debt owed by skilled-nursing facilities.
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