BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1114
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1114 (Bonilla)
As Amended April 16, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Health |18-0 |Bonta, Maienschein, | |
| | |Bonilla, Burke, | |
| | |Chávez, Chiu, | |
| | |Gomez, Gonzalez, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Lackey, Nazarian, | |
| | |Patterson, | |
| | |Rodriguez, | |
| | |Santiago, | |
| | |Steinorth, | |
| | |Thurmond, Waldron, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
AB 1114
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| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Clarifies existing law regarding the documents necessary
to retain eligibility, benefits or services from Medi-Cal and
subsidized programs under Covered California, as defined.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "forms, letters, and notices" as all application,
renewal, and other forms and letters needed to obtain or retain
eligibility, benefits, or services from an insurance
affordability program, and all notices affecting the legal
rights of applicants, beneficiaries and enrollees.
2)Requires all forms, letters and notices developed pursuant to
this bill to be accessible, standardized, and in compliance with
federal and state laws, regulation, and guidance.
3)Requires all forms, letters, and notices developed pursuant to
this bill to be written in plain language, be accessible to
limited English proficient (LEP) individuals in accordance with
state and federal law, and at a minimum, provided at the same
threshold of languages as required for Medi-Cal managed care
plans.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
AB 1114
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1)Implementation costs for translation and information technology
(IT) services to Covered California / Department of Health Care
Services, which are joint sponsors of the California Healthcare
Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS),
potentially in the range of $2 million (General Fund
(GF)/federal funds/special funds). The vast majority of this
cost is for IT.
2)Unknown, potential ongoing cost pressure to the state
(GF/federal funds/special funds) for county administrative
costs. Counties determine eligibility for Medi-Cal and Covered
California, and would incur additional costs if additional
translations are necessary beyond the standard translations
included in the automated CalHEERS system.
COMMENTS: The author states language is a significant barrier to
health care access and coverage to Californians. While the Health
Care Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention Act has made progress
in ensuring that Californians are in compliance with the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and receiving the health
care coverage they need, significant challenges remain for many
LEP individuals. The author states this bill will help ensure LEP
individuals not only have access to health care for the first
time, but also continue to renew their coverage to receive
sustained care.
Western Center on Law & Poverty, the sponsor of this bill, states
that the lack of translated and language-accessible renewal
materials is resulting in many consumers not understanding
requests for information required to maintain their health
coverage. This has led to undue stress and discontinued access to
necessary health care services for LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries,
following receipt of Medi-Cal termination notices. The sponsor
notes that some counties within the state have begun to translate
some of the forms into their own threshold languages; however this
AB 1114
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is a piecemeal solution to a statewide issue. The sponsor
concludes this bill is necessary to clarify which health care
forms are required to be translated for consumers, as a court
recently ruled that existing statute does not explicitly contain
translation requirements for all forms. Supporters of this bill
state that any notice to a consumer not provided in his or her
primary language is legally insufficient to be considered proper
notice in terms of a consumer's due process rights. Supporters
note this bill is necessary to clarify existing law and ensure
Californians better understand their healthcare coverage.
This bill has no known opposition.
Analysis Prepared by:
An-Chi Tsou / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN: 0000718