BILL NUMBER: SB 10 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 2, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 7, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 2, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Chiu, Gonzalez, Roger
Hernández, Santiago, Thurmond, and Wood)
DECEMBER 1, 2014
An act to add Section 100522 to the Government Code, relating to
health care coverage, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 10, Lara. Health care coverage: immigration status.
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health
Benefit Exchange that facilitates the purchase of qualified health
plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers, and
meets certain other requirements. PPACA specifies that an individual
who is not a citizen or national of the United States or an alien
lawfully present in the United States shall not be treated as a
qualified individual and may not be covered under a qualified health
plan offered through an exchange. Existing law creates the California
Health Benefit Exchange (the Exchange) for the purpose of
facilitating the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified
small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA.
This bill would require the Exchange to apply to the United States
Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver to allow
individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage through
the Exchange because of their immigration status to obtain coverage
from the Exchange. The bill would require the Exchange, after that
waiver has been granted, to require an issuer that offers a qualified
health plan in the individual market through the Exchange to
concurrently offer a California qualified health benefit plan, as
specified, to these individuals. The requirement to offer California
qualified health plans would become operative on January 1, 2018, for
coverage effective for California qualified health plans beginning
January 1, 2019, as specified. The bill would require that
individuals eligible to purchase California qualified health plans
pay the cost of coverage without federal assistance and meet other
specified requirements. The bill would require that information
provided by an applicant for coverage under the bill be used only for
the purposes of, and to the extent necessary for, ensuring the
efficient operation of the Exchange, including verifying the
eligibility of an individual to enroll through the Exchange, and
would prohibit that information from being disclosed to any other
person except as provided by the bill.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 100522 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
100522. (a) (1) The Exchange shall apply to the United States
Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver authorized under
Section 1332 of the federal act as defined in subdivision (e) of
Section 100501 in order to allow persons otherwise not able to obtain
coverage by reason of immigration status through the Exchange to
obtain coverage from the Exchange by waiving the requirement that the
Exchange offer only qualified health plans solely for the purpose of
offering coverage to persons otherwise not able to obtain coverage
by reason of immigration status.
(2) The waiver of the requirement that the Exchange offer only
qualified health plans as described in paragraph (1) shall be limited
to requiring the Exchange to offer California qualified health plans
consistent with this section only and shall not be construed to
authorize the Exchange to offer any other nonqualified health plan.
(b) The Exchange shall require an issuer that offers a qualified
health plan in the individual market through the Exchange to
concurrently offer a California qualified health plan that meets all
of the following criteria:
(1) Is subject to the requirements of this title, including all of
those requirements applicable to qualified health plans.
(2) Is subject to the requirements of subdivisions (a), (b), and
(d) of Section 1366.6 of the Health and Safety Code and subdivisions
(a), (b), and (d) of Section 10112.3 of the Insurance Code in the
same manner as qualified health plans.
(3) Is identical to the corresponding qualified health plan,
except for the eligibility requirements set forth in subdivision (c).
(c) Persons eligible to purchase California qualified health plans
shall pay the cost of coverage and shall not:
(1) Be eligible to receive federal advanced premium tax credit,
federal cost-sharing reduction, or any other federal assistance for
the payment of premiums or cost sharing for a California qualified
health plan.
(2) Otherwise be eligible for enrollment in a qualified health
plan offered through the Exchange by reason of immigration status.
(d) An applicant for coverage under this section shall be required
to provide only the information strictly necessary to authenticate
identity and determine eligibility under this section. Any person who
receives information provided by an applicant under this section,
whether directly or by another person at the request of the
applicant, or receives information from any agency, shall use the
information only for the purposes of, and to the extent necessary
for, ensuring the efficient operation of the Exchange, including
verifying the eligibility of an individual to enroll through the
Exchange. That information shall not be disclosed to any other person
except as provided in this section.
(e) Subdivisions (b) to (d), inclusive, shall become operative on
January 1, 2018, for coverage effective for California qualified
health plans beginning January 1, 2019, contingent upon federal
approval of the waiver pursuant to subdivision (a).
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to request federal approval of the waiver to expand
access to health care coverage in California as quickly as possible,
it is necessary that this act go into immediate effect.