AB 1863 Summary

• Adds marriage and family therapists to the list of health care professionals whose face-to-face encounters with patients at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) constitute billable visits under Medi-Cal.

• Requires FQHCs and RHCs that currently include dental hygienist in alternative practice or marriage and family therapist service costs in their base rates to apply for a per-visit rate adjustment before separately billing these services.

• Requires FQHCs and RHCs that do not currently provide dental hygienist, dental hygienist in alternative practice, or marriage and family therapist services to process the addition of these services as a change in scope of service.

• Establishes that multiple encounters with dental professionals or marriage and family therapists on the same day constitute a single visit for billing purposes.

• Incorporates amendments from SB 1335 regarding Drug Medi-Cal services reimbursement for FQHCs and RHCs, including provisions for interim rates and scope-of-service adjustments when costs are removed from per-visit rates.