BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 514 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair SB 514 (Anderson) - As Amended January 26, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Health |Vote:|15 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Privacy and Consumer | |11 - 0 | | |Protection | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill prohibits Covered California (CoveredCA) from disclosing personal information obtained from an application for health care coverage to a certified insurance agent or certified SB 514 Page 2 enrollment counselor without the consent of the applicant, unless the agent or counselor is assisting the applicant. FISCAL EFFECT: Negligible fiscal impact. CoveredCA is currently compliant with this bill, and the bill does not appear to impact CoveredCA's business practices. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. This bill is intended to protect consumers applying for health coverage through Covered California from being contacted by an insurance agent or certified enrollment counselor for assistance with their application without their consent. SB 514 is author-sponsored and supported by insurance industry groups. 2)Background. CoveredCA is a state-run health insurance marketplace where Californians can purchase health care and enroll in health care affordability programs. In 2013, concerns were expressed about actions by CoveredCA to release identifying information to certified insurance agents about individuals with pending applications, in order to allow outreach to assist potential applicants in completing their applications for health coverage. Although CoveredCA maintained the outreach program complied with privacy laws, negative feedback from consumers about perceived privacy violations led CoveredCA to discontinue the data-sharing practice. CoveredCA currently does not share information with external agents. In the future, if the choice was made to begin such data-sharing, this bill would limit such data-sharing to circumstances in which the applicant consented to such sharing. SB 514 Page 3 3)Prior legislation. There were several bills addressing the disclosure of personal information by CoveredCA that failed in various Assembly committees in 2014. AB 1602 (John A. Pérez), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2010, and SB 900 (Alquist), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2010, established CoveredCA and its powers and duties. Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081