BILL NUMBER: AB 343	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Solorio

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2007

   An act to add Division 1.7 (commencing with Section 1190) to the
Health and Safety Code, and to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
12699.10) to Part 6.3 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, relating
to health care coverage.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 343, as introduced, Solorio. Health care: employer coverage:
disclosure.
   Existing law provides for various programs under which qualified
low-income persons are provided health care services. These programs
include the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services, and the Healthy Families Program
and the Access for Infants and Mothers Program, which are
administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board.
   This bill would require the department and the board, on or before
March 15 of each year, to collaborate to transmit to the Legislature
a report identifying all employers who employ 25 or more persons who
are beneficiaries or who support beneficiaries of these programs, as
specified. The bill would also require the department and the board
to make the report available to the public as provided in the bill.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Division 1.7 (commencing with Section 1190) is added to
the Health and Safety Code, to read:

      DIVISION 1.7.  EMPLOYER HEALTH CARE COVERAGE DISCLOSURE


   1190.  For purposes of this division, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) "Department" means the State Department of Health Care
Services.
   (b) "Employer" includes the employer and any of its subsidiaries
at all locations in the state.
   (c) "Beneficiary" means any individual who is enrolled in a
state-funded public health program.
   (d) "State-funded public health program" means the Medi-Cal
program.
   1190.1.  (a) On or before March 15 of each year, the department
shall collaborate with the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to
transmit to the Legislature one report identifying all employers who
employ 25 or more persons who are beneficiaries or who support
beneficiaries under state-funded public health programs described in
subdivision (d) of Section 1190.
   (b) The report shall include all of the following:
   (1) The employer's name.
   (2) The employer's address.
   (3) The total number of each employer's employees and any
dependents of an employee who are enrolled in each state-funded
public health program described in subdivision (d) of Section 1190.
   (4) The total cost to the state of providing public health care
benefits for each identified employer's employees and their
dependents.
   (5) Any information submitted by an employer, whether or not the
employer offers health insurance, including information regarding the
significant components and features of the coverage, if any, offered
by the employer.
   (c) Employers are not required to submit any information to the
department for purposes of this section, but may do so voluntarily.
The department shall determine the method used to solicit information
from employers.
   (d) The report shall not include the names of any individual
beneficiary under a state-funded public health program described in
subdivision (d) of Section 1190 and shall be subject to
confidentiality standards established under the federal Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; Public
Law 104-191).
   (e) (1) The department shall make the report prepared pursuant to
this section available to the public on the department's Internet Web
site.
   (2) The department shall provide, upon request, a copy of the
report to any member of the public and may charge a reasonable fee to
cover the cost of providing a copy of the report.
   (f) Subdivisions (a), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 1094 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code do not apply to this section.
   (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
use of the specific medical costs of the actual program beneficiaries
for each identified employer.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 12699.10) is added to
Part 6.3 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 6.  EMPLOYER HEALTH CARE COVERAGE DISCLOSURE


   12699.10.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) "Beneficiary" means any individual who is enrolled in the
Healthy Families Program or the Access for Infants and Mothers
Program.
   (b) "Employer" includes the employer and any of its subsidiaries
at all locations in the state.
   12699.11.  (a) On or before March 15 of each year, the board shall
collaborate with the State Department of Health Care Services to
transmit to the Legislature one report identifying all employers who
employ 25 or more persons who are beneficiaries, or who support
beneficiaries, under the Healthy Families Program or the Access for
Infants and Mothers Program.
   (b) The report shall include all of the following:
   (1) The employer's name.
   (2) The employer's address.
   (3) The total number of each employer's employees and any
dependents of an employee who are enrolled in the Healthy Families
Program or the Access for Infants and Mothers Program.
   (4) The total cost to the state of providing benefits under the
Healthy Families Program or the Access for Infants and Mothers
Program for each identified employer's employees and their
dependents.
   (5) Any information submitted by an employer, whether or not the
employer offers health insurance, including information regarding the
significant components and features of the coverage, if any, offered
by the employer.
   (c) Employers are not required to submit any information to the
board for purposes of this section, but may do so voluntarily. The
board shall determine the method used to solicit information from
employers.
   (d) The report shall not include the names of any individual
beneficiary under the Healthy Families Program or the Access for
Infants and Mothers Program and shall be subject to confidentiality
standards established under the federal Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; Public Law 104-191).
   (e) (1) The board shall make the report prepared pursuant to this
section available to the public on the board's Internet Web site.
   (2) The board shall provide, upon request, a copy of the report to
any member of the public and may charge a reasonable fee to cover
the cost of providing a copy of the report.
   (f) Subdivisions (a), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 1094 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code do not apply to this section.
   (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
use of the specific medical costs of the actual program beneficiaries
for each identified employer.