California Government Code 13957.2 – (a) The board may establish maximum rates and service …
(a) The board may establish maximum rates and service limitations for reimbursement of medical and medical-related services and for mental health and counseling services. The adoption, amendment, and repeal of these service limitations and maximum rates shall not be subject to the rulemaking provision of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1). An informational copy of the service limitations and maximum rates shall be filed with the Secretary of State upon adoption by the board. Any reduction in the maximum rates or service limitations shall not affect payment or reimbursement of losses incurred prior to three months after the adoption of the reduction. A provider who accepts payment from the program for a service shall accept the program’s rates as payment in full and shall not accept any payment on account of the service from any other source if the total of payments accepted would exceed the maximum rate set by the board for that service. A provider shall not charge a victim or derivative victim for any difference between the cost of a service provided to a victim or derivative victim and the program’s payment for that service. To ensure service limitations that are uniform and appropriate to the levels of treatment required by the victim or derivative victim, the board may review all claims for these services as necessary to ensure their medical necessity.
(b) The board may request an independent examination and report from any provider of medical or medical-related services or psychological or psychiatric treatment or mental health counseling services, if it believes there is a reasonable basis for requesting an additional evaluation. The victim or derivative victim shall be notified of the name of the provider who is to perform the evaluation within 30 calendar days of that determination. In cases where the crime involves sexual assault, the provider shall have expertise in the needs of sexual assault victims. In cases where the crime involves child abuse or molestation, the provider shall have expertise in the needs of victims of child abuse or molestation, as appropriate. When a reevaluation is requested, payments shall not be discontinued prior to completion of the reevaluation.
Terms Used In California Government Code 13957.2
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Board: means the California Victim Compensation Board. See California Government Code 13951
- Crime: includes an act of terrorism, as defined in Section 2331 of Title 18 of the United States Code, committed against a resident of the state, whether or not the act occurs within the state. See California Government Code 13951
- Derivative victim: means an individual who sustains pecuniary loss as a result of injury or death to a victim. See California Government Code 13951
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
- Victim: means an individual who sustains injury or death as a direct result of a crime as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 13955. See California Government Code 13951
(c) Reimbursement for any medical, medical-related, or mental health services shall, if the application has been approved, be paid by the board within an average of 90 days from receipt of the claim for payment. Payments to a medical or mental health provider may not be discontinued prior to completion of any reevaluation. Whether or not a reevaluation is obtained, if the board determines that payments to a provider will be discontinued, the board shall notify the provider of their discontinuance within 30 calendar days of its determination.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 870, Sec. 5. (SB 1299) Effective January 1, 2013.)