BILL NUMBER: SB 997	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 14, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 31, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 20, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 6, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lara

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2016

    An act to add and repeal Sections 14007.81 and 14007.82
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to health care
coverage.   An act to amend Section 1185 of the Civil
Code, relating to notaries public. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 997, as amended, Lara.  Health care coverage:
immigration status.   Notaries public.  
   Existing law prohibits the acknowledgment of an instrument from
being taken unless the officer taking it has "satisfactory evidence"
that the person making the acknowledgment is the individual who is
described in and who executed the instrument. Under existing law,
"satisfactory evidence" means the absence of information, evidence,
or other circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe
that the person making the acknowledgment is not the individual he
or she claims to be and, among other things, he or she presents a
specified document that is either current or issued within 5 years
that contains a photograph and description of the person named on it,
the signature of the person, and a serial or other identifying
number, as provided.  
   This bill would add an identification card issued by a federally
recognized tribal government to the list of documents acceptable for
identification purposes.  
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under
which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services.
The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal
Medicaid program provisions. Existing law extends eligibility for
full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to individuals under 19 years of age who
do not have, or are unable to establish, satisfactory immigration
status, commencing after the Director of Health Care Services
determines that systems have been programmed for implementation of
this extension, but in no case sooner than May 1, 2016. 

   Existing law requires individuals under 19 years of age enrolled
in restricted-scope Medi-Cal at the time the director makes the
above-described determination to be enrolled in the full scope of
Medi-Cal benefits, if otherwise eligible, pursuant to an eligibility
and enrollment plan, as specified. Existing law requires an
individual who is eligible pursuant to these provisions to enroll in
a Medi-Cal managed care health plan, where available, but does not
preclude a beneficiary from being enrolled in any other children's
Medi-Cal specialty program that he or she would otherwise be eligible
for.  
   This bill, until January 1, 2019, would authorize the enrollment
of eligible children who, as of May 1, 2016, were enrolled in
comprehensive, low-cost coverage provided by a health care service
plan with a total enrollment in excess of 5 million lives, in
full-scope Medi-Cal with the same health care service plan,
notwithstanding any other law. The bill would provide that this
authorization is applicable only in a county in which a health care
service plan with a total enrollment in excess of 5 million lives has
a contract or a subcontract for Medi-Cal managed care. The bill
would also, until January 1, 2019, authorize the enrollment of
eligible children who, as of May 1, 2016, were enrolled in a
comprehensive, low-cost coverage program provided by a Medi-Cal
managed care health plan, in full-scope Medi-Cal with the same
Medi-Cal managed care health plan, notwithstanding any other law. The
bill would require the department to provide notice to the child's
representative of the child's enrollment into Medi-Cal and health
plan options, and would require this notice to contain specified
information. The bill would require the department, using information
provided to it by health care service plans, to determine whether
prior to May 1, 2016, an eligible child was enrolled in coverage with
a health care service plan with a total enrollment in excess of 5
million lives. The bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care health
plan and its designees to work with the department and its designees
to facilitate continuity of care and data sharing for the purpose of
implementing these provisions.  
   This bill would require the department to adopt necessary
regulations to implement these provisions, and until those
regulations are adopted, would authorize the department to implement
these provisions by means of all-county letters, provider bulletins,
or other similar instructions without taking regulatory action. The
bill would require the department to provide a semiannual status
report to the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions,
as specified. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 1185 of the   Civil
Code   is amended to read: 
   1185.  (a) The acknowledgment of an instrument shall not be taken
unless the officer taking it has satisfactory evidence that the
person making the acknowledgment is the individual who is described
in and who executed the instrument.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "satisfactory evidence" means
the absence of information, evidence, or other circumstances that
would lead a reasonable person to believe that the person making the
acknowledgment is not the individual he or she claims to be and any
one of the following:
   (1) (A) The oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally
known to the officer, whose identity is proven to the officer upon
presentation of a document satisfying the requirements of paragraph
(3) or (4), that the person making the acknowledgment is personally
known to the witness and that each of the following are true:
   (i) The person making the acknowledgment is the person named in
the document.
   (ii) The person making the acknowledgment is personally known to
the witness.
   (iii) That it is the reasonable belief of the witness that the
circumstances of the person making the acknowledgment are such that
it would be very difficult or impossible for that person to obtain
another form of identification.
   (iv) The person making the acknowledgment does not possess any of
the identification documents named in paragraphs (3) and (4).
   (v) The witness does not have a financial interest in the document
being acknowledged and is not named in the document.
   (B) A notary public who violates this section by failing to obtain
the satisfactory evidence required by subparagraph (A) shall be
subject to a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars
($10,000). An action to impose this civil penalty may be brought by
the Secretary of State in an administrative proceeding or a public
prosecutor in superior court, and shall be enforced as a civil
judgment. A public prosecutor shall inform the secretary of any civil
penalty imposed under this subparagraph.
   (2) The oath or affirmation under penalty of perjury of two
credible witnesses, whose identities are proven to the officer upon
the presentation of a document satisfying the requirements of
paragraph (3) or (4), that each statement in paragraph (1) is true.
   (3) Reasonable reliance on the presentation to the officer of any
one of the following, if the document or other form of identification
is current or has been issued within five years:
   (A) An identification card or driver's license issued by the
Department of Motor Vehicles.
   (B) A passport issued by the Department of State of the United
States.
   (C) An inmate identification card issued by the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, if the inmate is in custody in
prison.
   (D) Any form of inmate identification issued by a sheriff's
department, if the inmate is in custody in a local detention
facility.
   (4) Reasonable reliance on the presentation of any one of the
following, provided that a document specified in subparagraphs (A) to
 (E),   (F),  inclusive, shall either be
current or have been issued within five years and shall contain a
photograph and description of the person named on it, shall be signed
by the person, shall bear a serial or other identifying number, and,
in the event that the document is a passport, shall have been
stamped by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of
the Department of Homeland Security:
   (A) A passport issued by a foreign government.
   (B) A driver's license issued by a state other than California or
by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue driver's
licenses.
   (C) An identification card issued by a state other than
California.
   (D) An identification card issued by any branch of the Armed
Forces of the United States.
   (E) An employee identification card issued by an agency or office
of the State of California, or by an agency or office of a city,
county, or city and county in this state. 
   (F) An identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal
government. 
   (c) An officer who has taken an acknowledgment pursuant to this
section shall be presumed to have operated in accordance with the
provisions of law.
   (d) A party who files an action for damages based on the failure
of the officer to establish the proper identity of the person making
the acknowledgment shall have the burden of proof in establishing the
negligence or misconduct of the officer.
   (e) A person convicted of perjury under this section shall forfeit
any financial interest in the document. 
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
   (a) No child in California should endure suffering and pain due to
a lack of access to health care services.
   (b) Expanding access and increasing enrollment in comprehensive
health care coverage benefits the health and welfare of all
Californians.
   (c) Through the enactment of Senate Bill 75, the California
Legislature has extended eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits
to all children in California, regardless of immigration status.
   (d) Prior to the enactment of Senate Bill 75, some children who
otherwise would have been ineligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits
as a result of their immigration status obtained comprehensive,
low-cost coverage as a result of the community benefit program of a
health care service plan with an enrollment of more than 5,000,000
Californians, as well as coverage offered by other health plans. It
is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to provide for
continuity of care for these children, while allowing them to be
enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal.  
  SEC. 2.    Section 14007.81 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following Section 14007.8,
to read:
   14007.81.  (a) In order to maximize continuity of care and
coverage, children eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits pursuant
to Section 14007.8 who, as of May 1, 2016, were enrolled in
comprehensive, low-cost coverage provided by a health care service
plan with a total enrollment in excess of five million lives, shall
be enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal with the same health care service
plan if he or she is determined eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal
benefits under this chapter, notwithstanding any other law. This
requirement shall apply only in a county in which a health care
service plan with a total enrollment in excess of five million lives
has a contract or a subcontract for Medi-Cal managed care.
   (b) In order to facilitate continuity of care and coverage, the
department shall, using information provided to it by health care
service plans consistent with Section 14124.90, determine whether
prior to May 1, 2016, a child who is eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal
benefits pursuant to Section 14007.8 was enrolled in coverage with a
health care service plan with a total enrollment in excess of five
million lives.
   (c) The department shall provide the child's representative with
timely, linguistically appropriate notice of the child's enrollment
into Medi-Cal and health plan options. This notice shall contain all
of the following information:
   (1) Which Medi-Cal managed care health plan or plans contain the
child's existing primary care provider, including those instances in
which the health care service plan does not directly contract as a
Medi-Cal managed care health plan with the department under this
chapter or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 14200).
   (2) That the child, subject to his or her ability to change his or
her health plan as described in paragraph (4), will be assigned to
his or her existing health care service plan if enrolled in
full-scope Medi-Cal benefits after May 1, 2016. If the child wants to
keep his or her primary care provider, no additional action will be
required.
   (3) That if the child's existing primary care provider is not
contracted with any Medi-Cal managed care health plan in the enrollee'
s county of residence or if the enrollee's existing health care
service plan is not an available Medi-Cal managed care health plan in
the child's county of residence, he or she will receive all provider
and health plan information required to be sent to new enrollees. If
the child does not affirmatively select one of the available
Medi-Cal managed care health plans within 30 days of receipt of the
notice, he or she will automatically be assigned a plan through the
department-prescribed auto-assignment process.
   (4) That the child may choose any available Medi-Cal managed care
health plan and primary care provider in his or her county of
residence, if more than one Medi-Cal managed care health plan is
available in the county where he or she resides, and he or she will
receive all provider and health plan information required to be sent
to new enrollees and instructions on how to choose or change his or
her health plan and primary care provider.
   (5) That the child does not need to take any action to retain his
or her health plan and primary care provider if he or she is enrolled
in full-scope Medi-Cal benefits pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (d) The health care service plan described in subdivision (a) and
its designees shall work with the department and its designees to
facilitate continuity of care and data sharing for the purposes of
delivering Medi-Cal services.
   (e) This section shall apply only to an enrollee in a service area
of the health care service plan approved as of the effective date of
this section.
   (f) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department, without taking any further regulatory action, shall
implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of
all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or
similar instructions until the time any necessary regulations are
adopted. Thereafter, the department shall adopt regulations in
accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
   (2) Commencing six months after the effective date of this
section, and notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the department shall provide a report on the status of the
implementation of this section to the Legislature on a semiannual
basis. The submission of the report shall comply with Section 9795 of
the Government Code.
   (g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.  
  SEC. 3.    Section 14007.82 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   14007.82.  (a) In order to maximize continuity of care and
coverage, children eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits pursuant
to Section 14007.8 who, as of May 1, 2016, were enrolled in a
comprehensive, low-cost coverage program provided by a Medi-Cal
managed care health plan shall be enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal
with the same Medi-Cal managed care health plan pursuant to the
requirements of this subdivision, notwithstanding any other law.
   (b) A Medi-Cal managed care health plan described in subdivision
(a) and its designees shall work with the department and its
designees to facilitate continuity of care and data sharing to the
extent permissible by state and federal law for the purposes of
implementing this section.
   (c) The department shall provide the child's representative with
timely, linguistically appropriate notice of the child's enrollment
into Medi-Cal and of health plan options consistent with the
applicable provisions of subdivision (d) of Section 14007.81. The
notice shall contain all of the following information:
   (1) Which Medi-Cal managed care health plan or plans contain the
child's existing primary care provider, including those instances in
which the health care service plan does not directly contract as a
Medi-Cal managed care health plan with the department under this
chapter or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 14200).
   (2) That the child, subject to his or her ability to change his or
her health plan as described in paragraph (3), will be assigned to
his or her existing health care service plan if enrolled in
full-scope Medi-Cal benefits after May 1, 2016. If the child wants to
keep his or her primary care provider, no additional action will be
required.
   (3) That the child may choose any available Medi-Cal managed care
health plan and primary care provider in his or her county of
residence, if more than one Medi-Cal managed care health plan is
available in the county where he or she resides, and he or she will
receive all provider and health plan information required to be sent
to new enrollees and instructions on how to choose or change his or
her health plan and primary care provider.
   (4) That the child does not need to take any action to retain his
or her health plan and primary care provider if he or she is enrolled
in full-scope Medi-Cal benefits pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (d) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department, without taking any further regulatory action, shall
implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of
all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or
similar instructions until the time any necessary regulations are
adopted. Thereafter, the department shall adopt regulations in
accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
   (2) Commencing six months after the effective date of this
section, and notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the department shall provide a report on the status of the
implementation of this section to the Legislature on a semiannual
basis. The submission of the report shall comply with Section 9795 of
the Government Code.
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.