BILL NUMBER: AB 332 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Calderon
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Brown)
( Coauthor: Senator Liu
)
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
An act to add and repeal Section 10234.75 of the Insurance Code,
relating to insurance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 332, as amended, Calderon. Long-term care insurance.
Existing law provides for the regulation of long-term care
insurance by the Insurance Commissioner and prescribes various
requirements and conditions governing the delivery of individual or
group long-term care insurance in the state. Existing law establishes
the California Partnership for Long-Term Care Program to link
private long-term care insurance and health care service plan
contracts that cover long-term care with the In-Home Supportive
Services program and Medi-Cal and to provide Medi-Cal benefits to
certain individuals who have income and resources above the
eligibility levels for receipt of medical assistance, but who have
purchased certified private long-term care insurance policies.
This bill would establish the Long Term Care Insurance Task Force
in the Department of Insurance, chaired by the Insurance
Commissioner or his or her designee, and composed of specified
stakeholders and representatives of government agencies to examine
the components necessary to design and implement a statewide
long-term care insurance program, as specified. The bill would
require the task force to recommend options for establishing this
program and to comment on their respective degrees of feasibility in
a report submitted to the commissioner, the Governor, and the
Legislature by January July 1, 2017.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Recent public opinion research indicates that Californians,
regardless of political party or income level, are worried about the
costs of growing older. Two-thirds of respondents in the research
said that they are apprehensive about being able to afford long-term
care. Sixty-three percent of respondents worry as much about paying
for long-term care as they do for their future health care.
(b) A majority of respondents could not afford more than three
months of nursing home care at an average cost of six thousand
dollars ($6,000) per month in California. About 4
four in 10 respondents could not afford a single month of
care at that rate. Among Latino voters, 88 percent said they do not
have long-term care insurance or are not sure whether they are
covered for supportive services like in-home care. Concerns about
paying for long-term care cut across all income levels and all
partisan affiliations.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
establishing a task force to explore the feasibility of developing
and implementing a culturally competent statewide insurance program
for long-term care services and supports.
SEC. 2. Section 10234.75 is added to the Insurance Code, to read:
10234.75. (a) The Long Term Care Insurance Task Force (the task
force) is hereby created in the Department of Insurance. Under the
leadership of the Commissioner, commissioner,
the task force shall examine the components necessary to
design and implement a statewide long-term care insurance program.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following nine voting
members:
(1) The Commissioner, commissioner,
or his or her designee, who shall serve as the chair of the task
force.
(2) The Director of Health Care Services, or his or her designee.
(3) The Director of the Department of Aging, or his or her
designee.
(4) Four persons appointed by the Governor, as follows:
(A) A certified actuary with expertise in long-term care
insurance.
(B) A nongovernment health policy expert.
(C) A representative of a long-term care provider association.
(D) A representative of a senior or consumer organization.
(5) One person, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, from an
employee representative organization that represents long-term care
workers.
(6) One person, appointed by the President pro Tempore of
the Senate, Senate Committee on Rules, from the
long-term care insurance industry.
(c) A task force member shall not receive a per diem or other
similar compensation for serving as a member of the task force.
(d) The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with
Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code) applies to meetings of the task force.
(e) The task force shall do all of the following:
(1) Explore how a statewide long-term care insurance program could
be designed and implemented to expand the options for people who are
interested in insuring themselves against the risk of costs
associated with functional or cognitive disability, and require
long-term care, services, and supports.
(2) Explore options for the design of the program, including
eligibility, enrollment, benefits, financing, administration, and
interaction with the Medi-Cal program and other publicly funded
resources. In exploring these options, the task force shall consider
all of the following:
(A) Whether and how a long-term care insurance program could be
included as a benefit in the state disability insurance program
structure, possibly through a nominal increase in the payroll tax,
and whether the program could be structured in the same manner as
Paid Family Leave benefits.
(B) Allowing for enrollment in the program of working adults who
would make voluntary premium contributions either directly or through
payroll deductions through their employer.
(C) To the extent feasible, requiring a mandatory enrollment with
a voluntary opt-out option.
(D) Giving working adults the opportunity to plan for future
long-term care needs by providing a basic insurance benefit to those
who meet work requirements and have developed functional or
equivalent cognitive limitations.
(E) Helping individuals with functional or cognitive limitations
remain in their communities by purchasing nonmedical services and
supports such as home health care and adult day care.
(F) Helping offset the costs incurred by adults with chronic and
disabling conditions. The program need not be designed to cover the
entire cost associated with an individual's long-term care needs.
(3) Evaluate how benefits under the program would be coordinated
with existing private health care coverage benefits.
(4) Take into account the premiums necessary to provide an
adequate benefit within a solvent program.
(5) Evaluate the demands on the long-term care workforce as the
need for long-term care in California grows, and how the long-term
care workforce can be prepared to meet those demands.
(6) Consider the establishment of a joint public and private
system to make long-term care accessible to as many individuals
within California as possible.
(7) Make recommendations related to key regulatory provisions
necessary for the public to access existing long-term care insurance
programs and participate in future long-term care insurance programs,
whether those programs are recommended by the task force or
otherwise.
(f) The department shall operate within its existing budgetary
resources for purposes of implementing this section. Any governmental
agency that participates in the task force shall operate within its
existing budgetary resources for purposes of that participation.
(g) The task force shall recommend options for establishing a
statewide long-term care insurance program and comment on the
respective degrees of feasibility of those options in a report
submitted to the commissioner, the Governor, and the Legislature on
or before January July 1, 2017. The
report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted in accordance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(h) The commissioner may seek private funds for purposes of
implementing this section.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.