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(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(A) Medical treatment for indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal is essential to protecting the public health.
(B) The Legislature supports the adoption of standardized and simplified forms and procedures in order to promote the drug treatment of indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal.
(C) Providers should not be required by the state to subsidize the medical treatment provided to indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal.
(D) The Legislature supports the therapeutic value of indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal contributing some level of fees for drug treatment services in order to support the goals of those drug treatment services.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to encourage narcotic treatment program providers to serve indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the department allow narcotic treatment program providers to charge therapeutic fees for providing drug treatment to indigent patients who are not eligible for Medi-Cal if the providers establish a fee scale that complies with the documentation requirements established pursuant to this section and federal law.
(b) (1) The Legislature recognizes that narcotic treatment program providers are reimbursed for controlled substances provided under the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program, also known as Drug Medi-Cal, and pursuant to federal law at a rate that is the lower of the per capita uniform statewide daily reimbursement or Drug Medi-Cal rate, or the provider’s usual and customary charge to the general public for the same or similar services.
(2) It furthers the intent of the Legislature to ensure that narcotic treatment programs in the state are able to serve indigent clients and that there is an exception to the reimbursement requirements described in paragraph (1), as the federal law has been interpreted by representatives with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Pursuant to this exception, if a narcotic treatment program provider that is serving low-income non-Drug Medi-Cal clients complies with a federal requirement for the application of a sliding indigency scale, the reduced charges under the sliding indigency scale shall not lower the provider’s usual and customary charge determination for purposes of Medi-Cal reimbursement.
(c) A licensed narcotic treatment program provider that serves low-income non-Drug Medi-Cal clients shall be deemed in compliance with federal and state law, for purposes of the application of the exception described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), and avoid audit disallowances, if the provider implements a sliding indigency scale that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The maximum fee contained in the scale shall be the provider’s full nondiscounted, published charge and shall be at least the rate that Drug Medi-Cal would pay for the same or similar services provided to Drug Medi-Cal clients.
(2) The sliding indigency scale shall provide for an array of different charges, based upon a client’s ability to pay, as measured by identifiable variables. These variables may include, but need not be limited to, financial information and the number of dependents of the client.
(3) Income ranges shall be in increments that result in a reasonable distribution of clients paying differing amounts for services based on differing abilities to pay.
(4) A provider shall obtain written documentation that supports an indigency allowance under the sliding indigency scale established pursuant to this section, including a financial determination. In cases where this written documentation cannot be obtained, the provider shall document at least three attempts to obtain this written documentation from a client.
(5) The provider shall maintain all written documentation that supports an indigency allowance under this section, including, if used, the financial evaluation form set forth in Section 14021.53.
(6) Written policies shall be established and maintained that set forth the basis for determining whether an indigency allowance may be granted under this section and establish what documentation shall be requested from a client.
(d) In developing the sliding indigency scale, a narcotic treatment program provider shall consider, but need not include, any or all of the following components:
(1) Vertically, the rows would reflect increments of family or household income. There would be a sufficient number of increments to allow for differing charges, such as a six hundred dollar ($600) increase per interval.
(2) Horizontally, the columns would provide for some other variable, such as family size, in which case, the columns would reflect the number of people dependent on the income, including the client.
(3) Each row, except the first and last rows, would contain at least two different fee amounts and each of the columns, four or more in number, would contain at least six different fee amounts.
(4) The cells would contain an array of fees so that no fee would be represented in more than 25 percent of the cells.
(e) A narcotic treatment program provider that uses the financial evaluation form instructions and financial form set forth in Section 14021.53 in obtaining written documentation that supports an indigency allowance as required under paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) shall be deemed in compliance with that paragraph.