California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1372

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 10144.52 of the Insurance Code, relating to health insurance.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1372, as introduced, Bonilla. Health insurance: pervasive developmental disorder or autism.

Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health insurance policies to provide benefits for specified conditions, including coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism, except as specified. Existing law defines behavioral health treatment as professional services and treatment programs that develop or restore the functioning of an individual with pervasive developmental disorder or autism that are, among other things, administered by a qualified autism provider. A qualified autism provider is defined, in part, as a person who is either licensed as a health professional, or accredited and certified by specified entities, who designs, supervises, or provides treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism, as specified. Under existing law, specified terms, including provider, professional provider, and network provider, are defined to include the term qualified autism provider. Under existing law, those defined provisions are inoperative on July 1, 2014, and are repealed on January 1, 2015.

This bill would extend the operation of those defined provisions until July 1, 2016, and would repeal that provision on January 1, 2017.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 10144.52 of the Insurance Code is
amended to read:

10144.52.  

(a) For purposes of this part, the terms “provider,”
“professional provider,” “network provider,” “mental health
provider,” and “mental health professional” shall include the term
“qualified autism service provider,” as defined in subdivision (c)
of Section 10144.51.

(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, begin delete 2014 end delete begin insert 2016 end insert ,
and, as of January 1, begin delete 2015 end delete begin insert 2017 end insert , is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, begin delete 2015 end delete begin insert 2017 end insert ,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
is repealed.