BILL NUMBER: AB 2115	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wood

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2016

   An act to amend Section 1367.009 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to health care service plans.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2115, as amended, Wood. Health care service plans: levels of
coverage.
   Existing federal law, the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacts various health care coverage
market reforms that  take   took  effect
January 1, 2014. Among other things, PPACA establishes annual limits
on deductibles for employer-sponsored plans and defines bronze,
silver, gold, and platinum levels of coverage for the
nongrandfathered individual and small group markets.
   Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975,
provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service
plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, including defining
levels of coverage. Existing law makes a willful violation of the act
a crime.  Existing law requires the actuarial value for
nongrandfathered small group markets to be determined in accordance
with, among other things, a consideration by the Department of
Managed Health Care, in consultation with the Department of Insurance
and the California Health Benefit Exchange, of whether to exercise
state-level flexibility with respect to the actuarial value
calculator in order to take into account the unique characteristics
of the California health care coverage market.  
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.  
   This bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care to
also work in consultation with the State Department of Health Care
Services in making the above consideration. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1367.009 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
   1367.009.  (a) Levels of coverage for the nongrandfathered small
group market are defined as follows:
   (1) Bronze level: A health care service plan contract in the
bronze level shall provide a level of coverage that is actuarially
equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits
provided under the plan contract.
   (2) Silver level: A health care service plan contract in the
silver level shall provide a level of coverage that is actuarially
equivalent to 70 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits
provided under the plan contract.
   (3) Gold level: A health care service plan contract in the gold
level shall provide a level of coverage that is actuarially
equivalent to 80 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits
provided under the plan contract.
   (4) Platinum level: A health care service plan contract in the
platinum level shall provide a level of coverage that is actuarially
equivalent to 90 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits
provided under the plan contract.
   (b) Actuarial value for nongrandfathered small employer health
care service plan contracts shall be determined in accordance with
all of the following:
   (1) Actuarial value shall not vary by more than plus or minus 2
percent.
   (2) Actuarial value shall be determined on the basis of essential
health benefits as defined in Section 1367.005 and as provided to a
standard, nonelderly population. For this purpose, a standard
population shall not include those receiving coverage through the
Medi-Cal or Medicare programs.
   (3) The department may use the actuarial value methodology
developed consistent with Section 1302(d) of PPACA.
   (4) The actuarial value for pediatric dental benefits, whether
offered by a full service plan or a specialized plan, shall be
consistent with federal law and guidance applicable to the plan type.

   (5) The department, in consultation with the Department of
 Insurance   Insurance, the State Department of
Health Care Services,  and the Exchange, shall consider whether
to exercise state-level flexibility with respect to the actuarial
value calculator in order to take into account the unique
characteristics of the California health care coverage market,
including the prevalence of health care service plans, total cost of
care paid for by the plan, price of care, patterns of service
utilization, and relevant demographic factors.
   (6) Employer contributions toward health reimbursement accounts
and health savings accounts shall count toward the actuarial value of
the product in the manner specified in federal rules and guidance.
   (c) "PPACA" means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), and
any rules, regulations, or guidance issued thereunder.