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(a) At the beginning of each fiscal year, for the current fiscal year, the director shall establish a monthly schedule of anticipated total payments and anticipated payments for categories of services, according to the categories established in the Governor’s Budget. The schedule will be revised quarterly.
(b) The director shall report actual total payments and payments for categories of services, as set forth in subdivision (a), monthly to the Director of Finance and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(c) At any time during the fiscal year, if the director has reason to believe that the total cost of the program will exceed available funds, the director may first modify the method or amount of payment for services provided that no amount shall be reduced more than 10 percent and no modification will conflict with federal law. If such modification is not sufficient to bring the program within available funds, the director may postpone elective services in the schedule of benefits. Such postponement of elective services shall be accomplished by changing the standards for approval of requests for prior authorizations. Such changes shall be designed to insure that those recipients most in need of elective services receive them first within the funds available, but that no particular service is completely eliminated.
(d) At any time during the fiscal year, if the total amounts paid since the beginning of the fiscal year exceed by 10 percent the amounts scheduled, the director shall immediately institute the action set forth in subdivision (c).
(e) At any time during the fiscal year, if the total amounts paid for any category of service exceeds by 10 percent the amounts scheduled (other than services for which the method or amount of payment is prescribed by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act), the director shall modify the method or amount of payment for such category of service to assure that the total amount paid for such category of service in the fiscal year shall be less than 10 percent in excess of the total amount scheduled provided the total cost of the program to the State General Fund shall not exceed appropriated state general funds.
(f) Before any of the above actions are taken by the director, he or she shall consult with representatives of concerned provider groups.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) or (e), the director shall not reduce the amount of payment, under the circumstances described in subdivision (c) or (e), for the ingredient cost component of pharmaceutical services rendered by pharmacist providers in California.