[authors: Danna Carmi, R. Michael Scarano Jr., Judith A. Waltz]

On September 29, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that gives the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the state agency which implements the California Medi-Cal (Medicaid) program, the authority to implement certain fraud, waste, and abuse requirements of the 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referenced as the federal health care reform law). The California legislation, S.B. 1529, was introduced in February 2012, and adds multiple provisions to the existing California Welfare & Institutions Code fraud and abuse provisions. DHCS has already announced that the target date for full implementation of the new requirements will be January 1, 2013.