The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)  Clinics are valuable partners in the state‘s efforts to improve access to health services.

(b)  Clinics have an established record of providing quality health services to medically uninsured persons at a reasonable cost.

(c)  Clinics are experienced in serving the culturally diverse populations of this state and have developed comprehensive health services packages that meet special population needs.

(d)  Clinics are major partners with all levels of government as contractors and grantees in programs that serve the poor, low income, minorities, and other target populations with special needs in both urban and rural areas of California.

(e)  The state’s grant and contract approval process are so complicated and time consuming that clinics are faced annually with severe cash-flow problems.

(f)  The length of time required for the state to process and execute payment of claims submitted by clinics, creates severe cash-flow problems for the clinics.

(g)  Clinics often have no choice but to borrow funds to cover operations pending receipt of state funds and the resulting interest payments reduce the amount of funds available for direct services to the needy population.

(h)  Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that preliminary advance payment authority be established for the department in order to alleviate clinics’ cash-flow problems to the extent possible.

(i)  It is the intent of the Legislature that a clinic revolving fund be established within the department to expedite the payment process and thereby alleviate the cash-flow problems of clinics.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1996.)