(a) The department shall prepare and submit Medi-Cal program assumptions and estimates to the Department of Finance. The purpose of the assumptions and estimates shall be to clearly identify changes within the Medi-Cal program which have policy or fiscal implications, and to produce reliable forecasts of Medi-Cal expenditures.

(b) (1) Beginning with the estimates for the 2024-25 fiscal year, Medi-Cal program assumptions and estimates shall be organized by and correspond to Budget Act or Budget Bill item numbers, separately identifying expenditures for all of the following:

(A) Purchase of medical care and services.

(B) County and other local assistance administration.

(C) Rate increases.

(2) Estimates and assumptions shall indicate state and federal, as well as total, funds expended.

(c) The department shall submit, by September 10 and March 1 of each year, to the Department of Finance for its approval, all assumptions underlying all Medi-Cal program estimates. The Department of Finance shall approve or modify, in writing, the assumptions underlying all estimates within 15 working days of their receipt. If the Department of Finance does not so approve or modify the assumptions by that date, the assumptions, as presented by the department, shall be deemed to be approved by the Department of Finance as of that date.

(d) The department shall submit an estimate of Medi-Cal program expenditures to the Department of Finance by November 1 and April 20 of each year. All approved estimates and supporting data provided by the department or developed independently by the Department of Finance, shall be made available to the legislative fiscal committees following approval by the Department of Finance. However, departmental estimates with supporting data shall be forwarded to the legislative fiscal committees on or about January 10 and May 15 of each year in the event this information has not been released earlier.

(e) Each Medi-Cal assumption shall contain a clear narrative description of the statutory, regulatory, or policy change, or other change, that has occurred or will occur which affects Medi-Cal program expenditures or which is of policy importance. Each assumption shall include a cost estimate which contains relevant workload, caseload, unit cost and other data or information needed to support the estimate.

(f) The assumptions related to purchase of medical care and services shall include a section with a nontechnical description of the major variables used to produce a base projection. This section shall further contain an estimate of the fiscal impact of the use of these variables. The estimates related to purchase of medical care and services shall include current and budget year base projections of eligibles, users, expenditures and cost per user by quarter with sufficient past actual data to permit evaluation of the projections. The projections shall be prepared by service category and aid category.

(g) Assumptions or estimates related to Medi-Cal county and other local assistance administration costs shall contain a narrative description of how the forecast was prepared. The estimates shall compare past actual and projected workload and expenditures in a format which will permit evaluation of forecasts. Unallocated funds and funds for special projects or special problems shall be separately identified.

(h) The estimates shall compare budgeted to implemented rate increases for the current year. The comparisons shall be by provider category and shall compare budgeted to implemented increases in terms of percentage increases, date of implementation, and revised estimated cost.

(i) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2023.

(Repealed (in Sec. 133) and added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 42, Sec. 134. (AB 118) Effective July 10, 2023. Operative July 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)