Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions.
Existing law requires the department to seek any necessary federal approvals and issue appropriate guidance to allow an FQHC or RHC to bill, under a supervising licensed behavioral health practitioner, for an encounter between an FQHC or RHC patient and an associate clinical social worker or associate marriage and family therapist when certain conditions are met, including, among others, that the FQHC or RHC is otherwise authorized to bill for services provided by the supervising practitioner as a separate visit.
This bill would add a psychological associate to those provisions, requiring the department to seek any necessary federal approvals and issue appropriate guidance to allow an FQHC or RHC to bill for an encounter between a patient and a psychological associate under those conditions. The bill would make conforming changes with regard to supervision by a licensed psychologist as required by the Board of Psychology.

Statutes affected:
AB2703: 14132.100 WIC
02/14/24 - Introduced: 14132.100 WIC
AB 2703: 14132.100 WIC