BILL NUMBER: SB 2	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 23, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 3, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 18, 2003

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Burton and Speier

                        DECEMBER 2, 2002

   An act to add Part 8.5 (commencing with Section 2020) to Division
2 of the Labor Code, relating to health care coverage.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 2, as amended, Burton.  Health care coverage.
   Existing law does not provide a system of health care coverage for
all California residents and does not require employers to provide
health care coverage for employees and dependents, other than
coverage provided as part of the workers' compensation system for
work-related employee injuries. Existing law provides for the
creation of various programs to provide health care services to
persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility
requirements.  These programs include the Healthy Families Program
administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and the
Medi-Cal program administered by the State Department of Health
Services.  Existing law provides for the regulation of health care
service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and health
insurers by the Department of Insurance.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to ensure
health care coverage for working Californians and their families.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  no.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The Legislature finds and declares that working Californians
and their families should have health insurance coverage.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that most working
Californians obtain their health insurance coverage through their
employment.
   (c) The Legislature finds and declares that in 2001, more than
6,000,000 Californians lacked health insurance coverage at some time
and 3,600,000 Californians had no health insurance coverage at any
time.
   (d) The Legislature finds and declares that more than 80 percent
of Californians without health insurance coverage are working people
or their families.  Most of these working Californians without health
insurance coverage work for employers who do not offer health
benefits.
   (e) The Legislature finds and declares that people who are covered
by health insurance have better health outcomes than those who lack
coverage.  Persons without health insurance are more likely to be in
poor health, more likely to have missed needed medications and
treatment, and more likely to have chronic  health 
conditions that are not properly managed.
   (f) The Legislature finds and declares that employers who do not
provide health benefits to their workers have an unfair competitive
advantage over those employers who provide health benefits.
Employers who provide health benefits often pay directly for the
failure of other employers to provide health benefits by providing
health benefits to spouses and other dependents who should be covered
by the spouse's or dependent's employer.  Employers who provide
health benefits also pay directly when a previously uninsured person
becomes an employee and the accumulated health costs due to lack of
insurance burden the employer providing health benefits.
   (g) The Legislature further finds and declares that health benefit
costs in California generally are lower than costs in other states
but employers generally are less likely to offer coverage.
   (h) The Legislature further finds and declares that controlling
health care costs can be more readily achieved if all working people
and their families have health benefits so that cost shifting is
minimized.
   (i) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to assure that
working Californians and their families have health benefits and that
their employers shall either provide those benefits or pay a user
fee to the State of California so that the state may serve as a
purchasing agent to pool those fees to purchase coverage that would
otherwise have been purchased directly by employers.
   (j) The Legislature further finds and declares that, while
covering all working people and their families will substantially
reduce the number of Californians without health insurance 
coverage  , several million Californians will still lack
 health  coverage.
   (k) It is therefore not the intent of the Legislature to reduce or
eliminate funding for safety net programs that provide access to
care for those who remain uninsured.
  SEC. 2.  Part 8.5 (commencing with Section 2020) is added to
Division 2 of the Labor Code, to read:

      PART 8.5.  EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE
      CHAPTER 1.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
      Article 1.  Title and Purpose

   2020.  This part shall be known and may be cited as the Health
Insurance Act of 2003.
   2020.5.  It is the purpose of this part to ensure that all working
Californians and their families are provided health care coverage.
   2021.  This part shall not be construed to diminish any protection
already provided pursuant to collective bargaining agreements or
employer-sponsored plans that are more favorable to the employees
than the health care coverage required by this part.