BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 422
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 422 (Nazarian)
As Introduced February 15, 2013
Majority vote
HEALTH 19-0
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|Ayes:|Pan, Logue, Ammiano, Atkins, |
| |Bonilla, Bonta, Chesbro, |
| |Gomez, Roger Hernández, |
| |Lowenthal, Maienschein, |
| |Mansoor, Mitchell, Nazarian, |
| |Nestande, V. Manuel Pérez, |
| |Wagner, Wieckowski, Wilk |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Adds information regarding health care coverage
available through the California Health Benefit Exchange
(Exchange), to notifications on applications for the School
Lunch Program, effective January 1, 2014. Information from the
application may currently be used to determine eligibility for
the Healthy Families Program, county or local-sponsored
programs, as defined and as applicable, if the parent has
granted consent when a child does not meet eligibility
requirements for Medi-Cal.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, current law authorizes
school districts to provide families with notifications about
the availability of school lunch programs. These notifications
also inform parents about the availability of low-cost health
care coverage for children. The federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers individuals and families
additional health care coverage options including expanded
Medi-Cal coverage and tax subsidies through the Exchange. The
author states that this bill will update current information
provided to parents about the availability of low-cost health
care coverage to include information about the new Exchange.
The author points out that multiple health problems may occur in
the absence of health insurance, consequently affecting a
child's ability to learn and parents' ability to work. In
addition, children who have access to medical, dental, and
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vision care often experience a greater sense of well-being.
According to the Los Angeles Unified School District, this
translates into improved school attendance and higher academic
achievement.
The author cites the California Simulation of Insurance Markets
(CalSIM) Study, conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy
Research and the UC Berkeley Labor Center, which estimates that
1.42 million adults will be eligible for coverage under the new
Medi-Cal expansion. An additional 2.6 million adults will be
eligible for tax credits to purchase health insurance through
California's new insurance marketplace, the Exchange (now called
Covered California). Although children and families may be
eligible for these new coverage options, many parents are
unaware of health coverage options. The CalSIM model includes
two scenarios to estimate take-up rates in Medi-Cal and Covered
California, a base model which assumes current individual and
market behaviors, and an enhanced model which assumes additional
outreach, enrollment, and simplification measures are in place.
For example, under the base scenario 900,000 adults under 65 are
predicted to enroll into Medi-Cal whereas under the enhanced
scenario with a more aggressive enrollment and outreach strategy
enrollment would reach 1.4 million by 2014. The author argues
that by updating information about these new coverage options
parents would be better informed in order to take advantage of
the health care coverage.
An April 2013 Health Tracking Poll from the Kaiser Family
Foundation found that much of the public remains confused about
the ACA. Four in 10 Americans (42%) were unaware that the ACA
is still the law of the land, including 12% who believe the law
has been repealed by Congress, 7% who believe it has been
overturned by the Supreme Court and 23% who do not know whether
or not the ACA remains law. The poll further found that about
half of the public said they do not have enough information
about the health reform law to understand how it will impact
their own family, a share that rises among the uninsured and
low-income households.
The California Exchange was established in 2010 by AB 1602 (John
A. Pérez), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2010, and SB 900 (Alquist),
Chapter 659, Statutes of 2010. Through Covered California,
people with incomes between the Medi-Cal threshold and up to
400% of the federal poverty level are eligible for subsidies and
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cost-sharing reductions. The California Healthcare Eligibility,
Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS) is a procurement
conducted jointly by the Exchange, the Department of Health Care
Services and the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to build
the Information Technology system to support the consumer
application and enrollment process at the Exchange. The portal
will offer eligibility determinations for both Medi-Cal and
federally subsidized Covered California coverage through the
Exchange. It will allow enrollment through multiple access
points including mail, phone, and in-person applications. It is
guided by a "no wrong door" policy that is intended to ensure
the maximum number of Californians obtain coverage appropriate
to their needs. Enrollment will begin by October 2013,
effective January 1, 2014. The CalHEERS business functions
include interfacing with the Medi-Cal eligibility data system.
Covered California has a budget of about $290 million to reach
5.3 million Californians. Slightly less than half the money is
going into television ads and other traditional media buys.
Most of the remaining funds are going into social media, data
mining and on-the ground outreach.
Covered California is also in the process of establishing an
Assister's Program that will include assister enrollment
entities (AEEs) and individual entities. AEEs are entities and
organizations eligible to be trained and registered to provide
in-person assistance to consumers to help them apply for Covered
California programs, particularly entities that have access to
Covered California's targeted population. Individual assisters
are individuals who are employed, trained, certified, and linked
to AEEs to provide in-person assistance to consumers and help
them apply for Covered California programs and are individuals
who can provide assistance in a culturally and linguistically
appropriate manner to consumers. A list of eligible entities
will be established and Covered California is looking to all
opportunities to build a robust network of In-Person Assisters,
particularly those who have prior experience with healthcare and
providing application assistance. School districts are listed
among the recommended proposed entities.
Analysis Prepared by : Marjorie Swartz / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
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