County of San Diego v. State of California

Page 134

61 Cal.Rptr.2d 134

15 Cal.4th 68, 931 P.2d 312, Medicare & Medicaid Guide P 45,112,

97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1555,

97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 2296

COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, Cross-Complainant and Respondent, v. The STATE of California et al., Cross-Defendants and Appellants.

No. S046843.

Supreme Court of California.

March 3, 1997.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, Charlton G. Holland, III, Assistant Attorney General, John H. Sanders and Richard T. Waldow, Deputy Attorneys General, for Cross-defendants and Appellants.

Lloyd M. Harmon, Jr., County Counsel, John J. Sansone, Acting County Counsel, Diane Bardsley, Chief Deputy County Counsel, Valerie Tehan and Ian Fan, Deputy County Counsel, for Cross-complainant and Respondent.

CHIN, Justice.

Section 6 of article XIII B of the California Constitution (section 6) requires the State of California (state), subject to certain exceptions, to "provide a subvention of funds to reimburse" local governments "[w]henever the Legislature or any state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service...." In this action, the County of San Diego (San Diego or the County) seeks reimbursement under section 6 from the state for the costs of providing health care services to certain adults who formerly received medical care under the California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal) (see Welf. & Inst.Code § 14063) ¹ because they were medically indigent, i.e., they had insufficient financial resources to pay for their own medical care. In 1979, when the electorate adopted section 6, the state provided Medi-Cal coverage to these medically indigent adults without requiring financial contributions from counties. Effective January 1, 1983, the Legislature excluded this population from Medi-Cal. (Stats.1982, ch. 328, §§ 6, 8.3, 8.5, pp. 1574-1576; Stats.1982, ch. 1594, §§ 19, 86, pp. 6315, 6357.) Since that date, San Diego has provided medical care to these individuals with varying levels of state financial assistance.

To resolve San Diego's claim, we must determine whether the Legislature's exclusion of medically indigent adults from Medi-Cal "mandate[d] a new program or higher level of service" on San Diego within the meaning of section 6. The Commission on State Mandates (Commission), which the Legislature created to determine claims under section 6, has ruled that section 6 does not apply to the Legislature's action and has rejected reimbursement claims like San Diego's. (See Kinlaw v. State of California (1991) 54 Cal.3d 326, 330, 285 Cal.Rptr. 66, 814 P.2d 1308, fn. 2 (Kinlaw ).) The trial court and Court of Appeal in this case disagreed with the Commission, finding that San Diego was entitled to reimbursement. The state seeks reversal of this finding. It also argues that San Diego's failure to follow statutory procedures deprived the courts of jurisdiction to hear its claim. We reject the state's jurisdictional argument and affirm the finding that the Legislature's exclusion of medically indigent adults from Medi-Cal "mandate[d] a new program or higher level of service" within the meaning of section 6. Accordingly, we remand the matter to the Commission to determine the amount of reimbursement, if any, due San Diego under the governing statutes.

I. FUNDING OF INDIGENT MEDICAL CARE

Before the start of Medi-Cal, "the indigent in California were provided health care services through a variety of different programs and institutions." (Assem. Com. on Public Health, Preliminary Rep. on Medi-Cal (Feb. 29, 1968) p. 3 (Preliminary Report).) County hospitals "provided a wide range of inpatient and outpatient hospital services to all persons who met county indigency requirements whether or not they were public assistance recipients. The major responsibility for supporting county hospitals rested upon the counties, financed primarily through property taxes, with minor contributions from" other sources. (Id. at p. 4.)

Medi-Cal, which began operating March 1, 1966, established "a program of basic and extended health care services for recipients of public assistance and for medically indigent persons." (Morris v. Williams (1967) 67 Cal.2d 733, 738, 63 Cal.Rptr. 689, 433 P.2d 697 (Morris ); id. at p. 740, 63 Cal.Rptr. 689, 433 P.2d 697; see also Stats.1966, Second Ex.Sess.1965, ch. 4, § 2, p. 103.) It "represent[ed] California's implementation of the federal Medicaid program (42 U.S.C. §§ 1396-1396v), through which the federal government provide[d] financial assistance to states so that they [might] furnish medical care to qualified indigent persons. [Citation.]" (Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center v. Belshe (1996) 13 Cal.4th 748, 751, 55 Cal.Rptr.2d 107, 919 P.2d 721 (Belshe ).) "[B]y meeting the requirements of federal law," Medi-Cal "qualif[ied] California for the receipt of federal funds made available under title XIX of the Social Security Act." (Morris, supra, 67 Cal.2d at p. 738, 63 Cal.Rptr. 689, 433 P.2d 697.) "Title [XIX] permitted the combination of the major governmental health care systems which provided care for the indigent into a single system financed by the state and federal governments. By 1975, this system, at least as originally proposed, would provide a wide range of health care services for all those who [were] indigent regardless of whether they [were] public assistance recipients...." (Preliminary Rep., supra, at p. 4; see also Act of July 30, 1965, Pub.L. No. 89-97, § 121(a), 79 Stat. 286, reprinted in 1965 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News, p. 378 [states must make effort to liberalize eligibility requirements "with a view toward furnishing by July 1, 1975, comprehensive care and services to substantially all individuals who meet the plan's eligibility standards with respect to income and resources"].) ²

However, eligibility for Medi-Cal was initially limited only to persons linked to a federal categorical aid program by age (at least 65), blindness, disability, or membership in a family with dependent children within the meaning of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC). (See Legis. Analyst, Rep. to Joint Legis. Budget Com., Analysis of 1971-1972 Budget Bill, Sen. Bill No. 207 (1971 Reg. Sess.) pp. 548, 550 (1971 Legislative Analyst's Report).) Individuals possessing one of these characteristics (categorically linked persons) received full benefits if they actually received public assistance payments. (Id. at p. 550.) Lesser benefits were available to categorically linked persons who were only medically indigent, i.e., their income and resources, although rendering them ineligible for cash aid, were "not sufficient to meet the cost of health care." (Morris, supra, 67 Cal.2d at p. 750, 63 Cal.Rptr. 689, 433 P.2d 697; see also 1971 Legis. Analyst's Rep., supra, at pp. 548, 550; Stats.1966, Second Ex.Sess.1965, ch. 4, § 2, pp. 105-106.)

Individuals not linked to a federal categorical aid program (non-categorically linked persons) were ineligible for Medi-Cal, regardless of their means. Thus, "a group of citizens, not covered by Medi-Cal and yet unable to afford medical care, remained the responsibility of" the counties. (County of Santa Clara v. Hall (1972) 23 Cal.App.3d 1059, 1061, 100 Cal.Rptr. 629 (Hall ).) In establishing Medi-Cal, the Legislature expressly recognized this fact by enacting former section 14108.5, which provided: "The Legislature hereby declares its concern with the problems which will be facing the counties with respect to the medical care of indigent persons who are not covered [by Medi-Cal] ... and ... whose medical care must be financed entirely by the counties in a time of heavily increasing medical costs." (Stats.1966, Second Ex.Sess.1965, ch. 4, § 2, p. 116.) The Legislature directed the Health Review and Program Council "to study this problem and report its findings to the Legislature no later than March 1, 1967." (Ibid.)

Moreover, although it required counties to contribute to the costs of Medi-Cal, the Legislature established a method for determining the amount of their contributions that would "leave them with [ ]sufficient funds to provide hospital care for those persons not eligible for Medi-Cal." (Hall, supra, 23 Cal.App.3d at p. 1061, 100 Cal.Rptr. 629, fn. omitted.) Former section 14150.1, which was known as the "county option" or the "option plan," required a county "to pay the state a sum equal to 100 percent of the county's health care costs (which included both linked and nonlinked individuals) provided in the 1964-1965 fiscal year, with an adjustment for population increase; in return the state would pay the county's entire cost of medical care." ³ (County of Sacramento v. Lackner (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 576, 581, 159 Cal.Rptr. 1 (Lackner ).) Under the county option, "the state agreed to assume all county health care costs ... in excess of" the county's payment. (Id. at p. 586, 159 Cal.Rptr. 1.) It "made no distinction between 'linked' and 'nonlinked' persons," and "simply guaranteed a medical cost ceiling to counties electing to come within the option plan." (Ibid.) "Any difference in actual operating costs and the limit set by the option provision [was] assumed entirely by the state." (Preliminary Rep., supra, at p. 10, fn. 2.) Thus, the county option "guarantee[d] state participation in the cost of care for medically indigent persons who [were] not otherwise covered by the basic Medi-Cal program or other repayment programs." ⁴ (1971 Legis. Analyst's Rep., supra, at p. 549.)

Primarily through the county option, Medi-Cal caused a "significant shift in financing of health care from the counties to the state and federal government.... During the first 28 months of the program the state ... paid approximately $76 million for care of non-Medi-Cal indigents in county hospitals." (Preliminary Rep., supra, at p. 31.) These state funds paid "costs that would otherwise have been borne by counties through increases in property taxes." (Legis. Analyst, Rep. to Joint Legis. Budget Com.,...