California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2077


Introduced by Assembly Members Burke and Bonilla

February 17, 2016


An act relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2077, as introduced, Burke. Health Care Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention Act.

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 (CHIP). Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 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 through the Exchange.

Existing law, the Health Care Reform Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention Planning Act, requires an individual to have the option to apply for insurance affordability programs in person, by mail, online, by telephone, or by other commonly available electronic means. Existing law defines “insurance affordability programs” to include the Medi-Cal program, CHIP, and a program that makes available to qualified individuals coverage in a qualified health benefit plan through the Exchange with advance payment of the premium tax credit established under a specified provision of the Internal Revenue Code. During the processing of an application, renewal, or a transition due to a change in circumstances, existing law requires an entity making eligibility determinations for an insurance affordability program to ensure that an eligible applicant and recipient of those programs that meets all program eligibility requirements and complies with all necessary requirements 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.

This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would establish procedures to ensure that individuals move between Medi-Cal and the Exchange without any breaks in coverage as required under the provision described above.

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

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

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
2legislation that would establish procedures to ensure that
3individuals move between Medi-Cal and the California Health
4Benefit Exchange without any breaks in coverage as required under
5subdivision (h) of Section 15926 of the Welfare and Institutions
6Code.



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