BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    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.  
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           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.

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           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. 


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           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

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          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

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