BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 353
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Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 353 (Lieu) - As Amended: August 14, 2013
Policy Committee: HealthVote:13-5
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires health plans and insurers that advertise or
market in a language other than English to translate certain
documents in that language. It also requires prior approval,
similar to what exists today for health plans, of marketing
material related to insurance plans.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs of about $250,000 for the adoption of
regulations by the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC)
(Managed Care Fund).
2)One-time costs of $70,000 for review of health plan contracts
and other documents by the DMHC to ensure that health plan
policies comply with the bill's requirements (Managed Care
Fund).
3)Potential ongoing enforcement costs in the tens of thousands
annually to CDI and DMHC, based on complaints for violations
of the bill's requirements by health plans (Insurance Fund and
Managed Care Fund).
4)One-time costs of about $150,000 for the adoption of
regulations by the Department of Insurance (Insurance Fund.)
5)Ongoing costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually
for review of insurance plan advertising materials and
enforcement activities by the Department of Insurance
(Insurance Fund.)
COMMENTS
SB 353
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1)Rationale . This bill seeks to ensure that low-income
communities of color and limited English-proficient consumers
are not misled in light of the ACA's coverage expansions,
individual mandate to procure health insurance, and the
creation of a new health insurance exchange (Covered
California). He states consumer trust in the establishment
and operation of the Covered California is critical to its
success.
2)Background . Under current law, health plans must file and DMHC
reviews marketing materials. If materials are not disapproved
or modified by DMHC within 30 days, materials are deemed
approved. This bill applies the same requirements to
CDI-regulated insurance plans.
Current law requires plans and insurers to assess the language
needs of their enrollee population and translate certain
documents into non-English languages spoken by a certain
percentage or number of their population. Requirements differ
depending on the plan's and insurer's number of enrollees.
This bill would leave the current requirements intact, but
also require translation of a similar set of documents into
any language plans or insurance products are advertised in.
3)Opposition . Health plans and insurers, and the California
Chamber of Commerce, oppose this bill as an additional and
unnecessary administrative burden, and believe current law and
practice serves enrollees well. They indicate they currently
translate written materials upon request and provide
telephonic translation services. They warn these new
requirements could have the unintended consequence of
lessening outreach to LEP communities. The Association of
California Life and Health Insurance Companies believes the
CDI review of marketing materials is burdensome, and that
existing authority is adequate to ensure marketing materials
do not deceive consumers.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081