BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 422| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 422 Author: Nazarian (D) Amended: 7/2/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/12/13 AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff, Monning, Torres SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/26/13 AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-2, 5/16/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Notice of Health Care Coverage on School Lunch Applications SOURCE : California Pan-Ethnic Health Network DIGEST : This bill requires information on additional health care coverage through the California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) and the continued availability of Medi-Cal options to be included on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) notifications that school districts may provide to students, as specified. This bill also provides that a school district may include the notifications as part of the existing parental notifications at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term, as specified. This bill is effective on January 1, 2014. CONTINUED AB 422 Page 2 ANALYSIS : The California Department of Education oversees the largest child nutrition program in the country and administers over $2.3 billion in federal local assistance funding, supporting service of more than five million meals each day at over 45,000 sites through several programs, including the NSLP, the School Breakfast Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The NSLP is a federally-funded entitlement program that is open to all children enrolled in public and private schools and residential child care institutions. Depending on the child's family size and income level, a student receives meals free, at a reduced price, or pays the full cost. This NSLP uses donated commodity foods to help reduce the price of the lunches. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make applications for free or reduced price meals available to students at all times during each regular school day, as specified, and formulate a plan that will ensure that children eligible to receive free or reduced priced meals shall not be treated differently from other children. Existing law requires that in making applications for free or reduced-price meals, each school district and county superintendent of schools is encouraged to include information that parents may use to request information concerning Medi-Cal and the Healthy Families Program. At the option of the school district or county superintendent, the following information may be incorporated into the NSLP application packet or notification of eligibility: 1. A notification that if a child qualifies for free lunches, then the child may qualify for free or reduced-cost health coverage. 2. A request for the applicant's consent for the child to participate in the Medi-Cal program, if eligible for free school lunches, and to have the information on the school lunch application shared with the entity designated by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to make an accelerated determination and the local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program. CONTINUED AB 422 Page 3 3. A notification that the school district will not forward the school lunch application to the entity designated by the DHCS to make an accelerated determination and the local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program, without the consent of the child's parent or guardian. 4. A notification that the school lunch application is confidential and, with the exception of forwarding the information for use in health program enrollment upon the consent of the child's parent or guardian, the school district will not share the information with any other governmental agency, including the federal Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration (SSA). 5. A notification that the school lunch application information will only be used by the entity designated by the DHCS to make an accelerated determination and the state and local agencies that administer the Medi-Cal program for purposes directly related to the administration of the program and will not be shared with other government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the SSA for any purpose other than the administration of the Medi-Cal program. 6. Information regarding the Medi-Cal program, including available services, program requirements, rights and responsibilities, and privacy and confidentiality requirements. This bill requires the NSLP notifications, effective January 1, 2014, to do the following: 1. Advise the applicant that he/she may be eligible for reduced-cost comprehensive health care coverage through CHBE. 2. Advise that, if the applicant's family income is low, the applicant may be eligible for no-cost coverage through Medi-Cal. 3. Provide the applicant with the contact information for the CHBE, including its Web site and telephone number. CONTINUED AB 422 Page 4 4. Comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and any other applicable federal or state disabled access law. This bill provides that a school district may include the notifications as part of the existing parental notifications at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term, as specified. This bill requires the county to treat the application as an application for a health insurance affordability program (Medi-Cal, or coverage in the CHBE), as specified. If the county determines the child is already enrolled in a health insurance affordability program, the county would take no further action. Comments According to the author's office, millions of Californians lack healthcare coverage. Health problems are more likely to escalate with the lack of health insurance which affects a child's ability to learn and a parent's ability to work. The recent passage of the federal Affordable Care Act in 2010 offers individuals and families additional health care coverage options, including expanded Medi-Cal coverage and tax subsidies to purchase health insurance through the CHBE. According to the author's office, although children and families may be eligible for new coverage options, many of them may be unaware. The purpose of this bill is to minimize health problems arising from a lack of health coverage by requiring school districts to disseminate information regarding the availability of the additional health care coverage options in tandem with free and reduced-price lunch notifications. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/13) California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (source) AFSCME California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians California Chiropractic Association CONTINUED AB 422 Page 5 California Optometric Association California School Employees Association California State Parent Teachers Association California Teachers Association Health Access California Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter Southside Coalition of Community Health Centers Western Center on Law and Poverty ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-2, 5/16/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Chávez, Donnelly NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Grove, Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy PQ:k 7/2/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED