California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - September 7, 2001

This ACWDL provides 24 questions and answers about the CEC program. Assembly Bill 2900 establishes the CEC program for children for up to 12 months which ends with the earlier of the next eligibility determination period or the child's 19th birthday. CEC is effective January 1, 2001. The purpose of the CEC program is to continue to provide $0 share of cost Medi-Cal to a child until the next annual redetermination even if the rest of the family is no longer eligible for $0 share of cost Medi-Cal prior to the redetermination.

The CEC period begins with first month Medi-Cal eligibility is established or the first month impacted by an annual redetermination and ends 12 months later (unless the child turns 19 in less than 12 months). The CEC is triggered only when there is a change from $0 share of cost Medi-Cal either to share of cost Medi-Cal or when the child is determined to be ineligible for Medi-Cal for reasons other than attaining age 19, death, incarceration or loss of California residency.

The period of time that a child remains eligible for $0 share of cost under the CEC program is referred to as the CEC guaranteed period. During the CEC guaranteed period, any change in family income, assets or other circumstances that results in a change from $0 share of cost to a share of cost or from eligibility to ineligibility is disregarded for the child but not for adult family members. The CEC period guarantees that the child under age 19 continues to receive $0 share of cost Medi-Cal for the guarantee period.

The CEC period may not follow another continuous eligibility program such as the Transitional Medi-Cal (TMC) program. Thus assume a family that included a 17-year-old has just completed the first year on TMC. The prior annual redetermination was made before TMC began. If the family is found to be eligible for a second year of TMC, the 17-year-old would not be eligible for another year of $0 share of cost under CEC because TMC is viewed as another continuous eligibility program.

CEC applies to retroactive months. Questions and answers five and six of this ACWDL explain how to determine the CEC period when there is an application for retroactive Medi-Cal.