Amended in Senate September 1, 2015

Amended in Senate June 15, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1114

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 15926 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1114, as amended, Bonilla. Health care: eligibility and enrollment.

Existing law establishes various programs to provide health care coverage to persons with limited financial resources, including the Medi-Cal program and the State’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and specifies the duties and powers of the board governing the Exchange relative to determining eligibility for enrollment in the Exchange and arranging for coverage under qualified health plans, and facilitating the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange. Existing law, the Health Care Reform Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention Planning Act, operative as provided, requires the California Health and Human Services Agency, in consultation with specified entities, to establish standardized single, accessible, application forms and related renewal procedures for state health subsidy programs, as defined, in accordance with specified requirements relating to the forms and notices developed for these purposes.

This bill would define the terms “forms” and “notices” for these purposes as begin delete application, renewal, and other forms and letters end delete begin insert application and renewal forms and notices of action end insert needed to obtain or retain eligibility, benefits, or services from an insurance affordability begin delete program, and all notices affecting the legal rights of applicants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. end delete begin insert program. end insert

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 15926 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code is amended to read:

15926.  

(a) The following definitions apply for purposes of
this part:

(1) “Accessible” means in compliance with Section 11135 of
the Government Code, Section 1557 of the PPACA, and regulations
or guidance adopted pursuant to these statutes.

(2) “Forms and notices” means begin delete application, renewal, and other
forms and letters end delete begin insert application and renewal forms and notices of
action end insert needed to obtain or retain eligibility, benefits, or services
from an insurance affordability begin delete program, and all notices affecting
the legal rights of applicants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. end delete begin insert program. end insert

(3) “Limited-English-proficient” means not speaking English
as one’s primary language and having a limited ability to read,
speak, write, or understand English.

(4) “Insurance affordability program” means a program that is
one of the following:

(A) The Medi-Cal program under Title XIX of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396 et seq.).

(B) The state’s children’s health insurance program (CHIP)
under Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1397aa et seq.).

(C) A program that makes available to qualified individuals
coverage in a qualified health plan through the California Health
Benefit Exchange established pursuant to Title 22 (commencing
with Section 100500) of the Government Code with advance
payment of the premium tax credit established under Section 36B
of the Internal Revenue Code.

(D) A program that makes available coverage in a qualified
health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange
established pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500)
of the Government Code with cost-sharing reductions established
under Section 1402 of PPACA and any subsequent amendments
to that act.

(b) An individual shall have the option to apply for insurance
affordability programs in person, by mail, online, by telephone,
or by other commonly available electronic means.

(c) (1) A single, accessible, standardized paper, electronic, and
telephone application for insurance affordability programs shall
be developed by the department in consultation with MRMIB and
the board governing the Exchange as part of the stakeholder process
described in subdivision (b) of Section 15925. The application
shall be used by all entities authorized to make an eligibility
determination for any of the insurance affordability programs and
by their agents.

(2) The department may develop and require the use of
supplemental forms to collect additional information needed to
determine eligibility on a basis other than the financial
methodologies described in Section 1396a(e)(14) of Title 42 of
the United States Code, as added by the federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), and as amended
by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of
2010 (Public Law 111-152) and any subsequent amendments, as
provided under Section 435.907(c) of Title 42 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.

(3) The application shall be tested and operational by the date
as required by the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(4) The application form shall, to the extent not inconsistent
with federal statutes, regulations, and guidance, satisfy all of the
following criteria:

(A) The form shall include simple, user-friendly language and
instructions.

(B) The form may not ask for information related to a
nonapplicant that is not necessary to determine eligibility in the
applicant’s particular circumstances.

(C) The form may require only information necessary to support
the eligibility and enrollment processes for insurance affordability
programs.

(D) The form may be used for, but shall not be limited to,
screening.

(E) The form may ask, or be used otherwise to identify, if the
mother of an infant applicant under one year of age had coverage
through an insurance affordability program for the infant’s birth,
for the purpose of automatically enrolling the infant into the
applicable program without the family having to complete the
application process for the infant.

(F) The form may include questions that are voluntary for
applicants to answer regarding demographic data categories,
including race, ethnicity, primary language, disability status, and
other categories recognized by the federal Secretary of Health and
Human Services under Section 4302 of the PPACA.

(G) Until January 1, 2016, the department shall instruct counties
to not reject an application that was in existence prior to January
1, 2014, but to accept the application and request any additional
information needed from the applicant in order to complete the
eligibility determination process. The department shall work with
counties and consumer advocates to develop the supplemental
questions.

(d) This section does not preclude the use of a provider-based
application form or enrollment procedures for insurance
affordability programs or other health programs that differs from
the application form described in subdivision (c), and related
enrollment procedures. This section does not preclude the use of
a joint application, developed by the department and the State
Department of Social Services, that allows for an application to
be made for multiple programs, including, but not limited to,
CalWORKs, CalFresh, and insurance affordability programs.

(e) The entity making the eligibility determination shall grant
eligibility immediately whenever possible and with the consent of
the applicant in accordance with the state and federal rules
governing insurance affordability programs.

(f) (1) If the eligibility, enrollment, and retention system has
the ability to prepopulate an application form for insurance
affordability programs with personal information from available
electronic databases, an applicant shall be given the option, with
his or her informed consent, to have the application form
prepopulated. Before a prepopulated application is submitted to
the entity authorized to make eligibility determinations, the
individual shall be given the opportunity to provide additional
eligibility information and to correct any information retrieved
from a database.

(2) An insurance affordability program may accept
self-attestation, instead of requiring an individual to produce a
document, for age, date of birth, family size, household income,
state residence, pregnancy, and any other applicable criteria needed
to determine the eligibility of an applicant or recipient, to the extent
permitted by state and federal law.

(3) An applicant or recipient shall have his or her information
electronically verified in the manner required by the PPACA and
implementing federal regulations and guidance and state law.

(4) Before an eligibility determination is made, the individual
shall be given the opportunity to provide additional eligibility
information and to correct information.

(5) The eligibility of an applicant shall not be delayed beyond
the timeliness standards as provided in Section 435.912 of Title
42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or denied for any insurance
affordability program unless the applicant is given a reasonable
opportunity, of at least the kind provided for under the Medi-Cal
program pursuant to Section 14007.5 and paragraph (7) of
subdivision (e) of Section 14011.2, to resolve discrepancies
concerning any information provided by a verifying entity.

(6) To the extent federal financial participation is available, an
applicant shall be provided benefits in accordance with the rules
of the insurance affordability program, as implemented in federal
regulations and guidance, for which he or she otherwise qualifies
until a determination is made that he or she is not eligible and all
applicable notices have been provided. This section shall not be
interpreted to grant presumptive eligibility if it is not otherwise
required by state law, and, if so required, then only to the extent
permitted by federal law.

(g) The eligibility, enrollment, and retention system shall offer
an applicant and recipient assistance with his or her application or
renewal for an insurance affordability program in person, over the
telephone, by mail, online, or through other commonly available
electronic means and in a manner that is accessible to individuals
with disabilities and those who are limited-English proficient.

(h) (1) During the processing of an application, renewal, or a
transition due to a change in circumstances, an entity making
eligibility determinations for an insurance affordability program
shall ensure that an eligible applicant and recipient of insurance
affordability programs that meets all program eligibility
requirements and complies with all necessary requests for
information moves between programs without any breaks in
coverage and without being required to provide any forms,
documents, or other information or undergo verification that is
duplicative or otherwise unnecessary. The individual shall be
informed about how to obtain information about the status of his
or her application, renewal, or transfer to another program at any
time, and the information shall be promptly provided when
requested.

(2) The application or case of an individual screened as not
eligible for Medi-Cal on the basis of Modified Adjusted Gross
Income (MAGI) household income but who may be eligible on
the basis of being 65 years of age or older, or on the basis of
blindness or disability, shall be forwarded to the Medi-Cal program
for an eligibility determination. During the period this application
or case is processed for a non-MAGI Medi-Cal eligibility
determination, if the applicant or recipient is otherwise eligible
for an insurance affordability program, he or she shall be
determined eligible for that program.

(3) Renewal procedures shall include all available methods for
reporting renewal information, including, but not limited to,
face-to-face, telephone, mail, and online renewal or renewal
through other commonly available electronic means.

(4) An applicant who is not eligible for an insurance affordability
program for a reason other than income eligibility, or for any reason
in the case of applicants and recipients residing in a county that
offers a health coverage program for individuals with income above
the maximum allowed for the Exchange premium tax credits, shall
be referred to the county health coverage program in his or her
county of residence.

(i) Notwithstanding subdivisions (e), (f), and (j), before an online
applicant who appears to be eligible for the Exchange with a
premium tax credit or reduction in cost sharing, or both, may be
enrolled in the Exchange, both of the following shall occur:

(1) The applicant shall be informed of the overpayment penalties
under the federal Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and
Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011
(Public Law 112-9), if the individual’s annual family income
increases by a specified amount or more, calculated on the basis
of the individual’s current family size and current income, and that
penalties are avoided by prompt reporting of income increases
throughout the year.

(2) The applicant shall be informed of the penalty for failure to
have minimum essential health coverage.

(j) The department, in coordination with MRMIB and the
Exchange board, shall streamline and coordinate all eligibility
rules and requirements among insurance affordability programs
using the least restrictive rules and requirements permitted by
federal and state law. This process shall include the consideration
of methodologies for determining income levels, assets, rules for
household size, citizenship and immigration status, and
self-attestation and verification requirements.

(k) (1) Forms and notices developed pursuant to this section
shall be accessible and standardized, as appropriate, and shall
comply with federal and state laws, regulations, and guidance
prohibiting discrimination.

(2) Forms and notices developed pursuant to this section shall
be developed using plain language and shall be provided in a
manner that affords meaningful access to limited-English-proficient
individuals, in accordance with applicable state and federal law,
and at a minimum, provided in the same threshold languages as
required for Medi-Cal managed care plans.

(l) The department, the California Health and Human Services
Agency, MRMIB, and the Exchange board shall establish a process
for receiving and acting on stakeholder suggestions regarding the
functionality of the eligibility systems supporting the Exchange,
including the activities of all entities providing eligibility screening
to ensure the correct eligibility rules and requirements are being
used. This process shall include consumers and their advocates,
be conducted no less than quarterly, and include the recording,
review, and analysis of potential defects or enhancements of the
eligibility systems. The process shall also include regular updates
on the work to analyze, prioritize, and implement corrections to
confirmed defects and proposed enhancements, and to monitor
screening.

(m) In designing and implementing the eligibility, enrollment,
and retention system, the department, MRMIB, and the Exchange
board shall ensure that all privacy and confidentiality rights under
the PPACA and other federal and state laws are incorporated and
followed, including responses to security breaches.

(n) Except as otherwise specified, this section shall be operative
on January 1, 2014.