BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1208 (Pan) - Insurance affordability programs: application
form.
Amended: September 6, 2013 Policy Vote: Health 6-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: September 12, 2013
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
This bill was referred to this committee pursuant to Senate Rule
29.10(c).
Bill Summary: AB 1208 would permit the application form for
insurance affordability programs (including Medi-Cal and health
care coverage through the California Health Benefit Exchange) to
include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
After January 1, 2015, the bill would require the application to
include specified demographic questions.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of $100,000 to $150,000 to modify
information technology systems to allow the health care
coverage application system for Medi-Cal and the California
Health Benefit Exchange to include required demographic
questions in the application (federal funds or special
funds).
Background: Under state and federal law, the Department of
Health Care Services operates the Medi-Cal program, which
provides health care coverage to pregnant women, children and
their parents with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty
level, as well as blind, disabled, and certain other
populations.
The federal Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid
(Medi-Cal in California) eligibility to persons under 65 years
of age, who are not pregnant, not entitled to Medicare Part A or
enrolled in Medicare Part B, and whose income does not exceed
133% of the federal poverty level (effectively 138% of the
AB 1208 (Pan)
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federal poverty level as calculated under the Affordable Care
Act). California has opted to expand eligibility for Medi-Cal up
to 138% of the federal poverty level.
The Affordable Care Act provides a significantly enhanced
federal match for the Medicaid expansion. Under the law, the
federal government will pay for 100% of the cost of the Medicaid
expansion in 2013-14 declining to a 90% federal match in the
2020 federal fiscal year and thereafter.
AB X1 1 (J. Perez, Statutes of 2013) and SB X1 1 (Hernandez and
Steinberg, Statutes of 2013) implement the expansion of Medi-Cal
and include a number of changes to the eligibility and
enrollment process for the Medi-Cal program. AB X1 1 and SB X1 1
require a single application paper, electronic, or telephone
application for Medi-Cal and health care coverage through the
California Health Benefit Exchange. Current law authorizes the
single application to include questions about the applicant's
demographic characteristics. Those questions are voluntary for
the applicant to answer.
Proposed Law: AB 1208 would permit the application form for
insurance affordability programs (including Medi-Cal and health
care coverage purchased through the California Health Benefit
Exchange) to include questions on sexual orientation and gender
identity.
After January 1, 2015, the bill would require the application
for to include specified
demographic questions - including questions regarding the
applicant's race, ethnicity, primary language, disability
status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Applicants would not be required to answer those demographic
questions to complete the application.
Related Legislation: AB 50 (Pan) formerly included language
identical to this bill. Those provisions were amended out of
that bill. That bill has been enrolled.