(a) The Regional Burn and Trauma Center Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury, under the administrative control of the State Department of Health Services, for the purposes specified in Section 14198 upon appropriation by the Legislature. Except as otherwise limited by this section, the fund shall consist of the following:

(1) All public moneys transferred by public agencies to the department for deposit into the fund, as permitted under Section 433.51 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or any other applicable federal medicaid laws.

(2) All private moneys donated by private individuals or entities to the department for deposit in the fund, as permitted under applicable federal medicaid laws and regulations. Private donations may come from private individuals, foundations, or entities that do not meet the definition of a provider entity, as contained in federal regulatory law.

(3) Any amounts appropriated by the Legislature for this program may be transferred to the fund.

(4) Any interest that accrues on amounts in the fund.

(b) Any public moneys transferred by public agencies, or private moneys donated by private individuals or entities to the department for deposit in the fund, shall be expended before any state appropriation is utilized as the nonfederal match of the supplemental reimbursement. Total combined funds made available under this section shall not exceed fifty million dollars ($50,000,000). It is the intent of the Legislature that funding from the General Fund shall not exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).

(c) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, any public or private agency transferring moneys to the fund may utilize for that purpose any revenues, grants, or allocations received from the state for health care programs or purposes. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a public or private agency may also utilize its general operating funds, or any other public or private moneys or revenues for purposes of transfers to the fund.

(d) The department shall have discretion as to whether to accept moneys offered to the department for deposit in the fund. If the department accepts moneys pursuant to this section, the department shall obtain federal matching funds to the full extent permitted by law. The department shall accept only those funds that are certified by the transferring entity or donating entity as qualifying for federal financial participation under the terms of the Medicaid Voluntary Contributions and Provider-Specific Tax Amendments of 1991 (Public Law 102-234), or Section 433.51 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as applicable, and may return any funds transferred or donated in error.

(e) Moneys in the fund shall be used as the source for the nonfederal share of payments to the Regional Burn and Trauma Center to be constructed pursuant to this article. Moneys shall be allocated from the fund by the department and matched by federal funds in accordance with customary Medi-Cal accounting procedures for purposes of payments under subdivision (e). Distributions from the fund shall be supplemental to any and all other amounts that this hospital would have received under the selective provider contracting program.

(f) For purposes of recognizing the Regional Burn and Trauma Center replacement costs incurred for services rendered to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, payments from the fund shall be negotiated between the California Medical Assistance Commission and the entity contracting under this article. Payments from the fund shall be used solely for the purposes identified in the contract between the hospital and the state.

(g) The state shall be held harmless for any federal disallowance resulting from this section. A hospital receiving supplemental reimbursement pursuant to this section shall be liable for any reduced federal financial participation resulting from the implementation of this section with respect to that hospital. The state may recoup any federal disallowance from the hospital.

(h) Funds available pursuant to this article shall only be used for projects, or for that portion of projects, that are available and accessible to Medi-Cal patients treated under this article or by successor programs.

(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 314, Sec. 1. Effective August 19, 1998.)