BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1541
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 20, 2009 

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

             AB 1541 (Committee on Health) - As Amended:  May 13, 2009  

          Policy Committee:                              Health Vote:19-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill conforms California law to a provision of the American  
          Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that addresses how long  
          individuals losing Healthy Families Program (HFP) or Medi-Cal  
          coverage (with no share of cost) have to request enrollment in  
          group coverage without being considered a late enrollee.   
          Specifically, this bill increases the time period from 30 days  
          to 60 days. This bill also expresses intent language to enact  
          legislation related to the Children's Health Insurance Program  
          Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), which reauthorizes HFP. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct fiscal impact for the California Department of Managed  
          Health Care (DMHC), the California Department of Insurance  
          (CDI), Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), or  
          Department of Health Care Services (DMHC) to continue oversight  
          of health coverage enrollment and termination. 

           COMMENTS  

            1) Rationale  . This bill makes a change to state law required in  
             CHIPRA. Federal law allows an employee or dependent to enroll  
             in coverage under the terms of a group health plan for up to  
             60 days after the date of termination of HFP or Medi-cal  
             coverage.  Current California law contains a similar  
             provision, but the person must enroll within 30 days after  
             termination of coverage. This bill conforms the time frame in  
             California health insurance law to the time frame in federal  
             tax law.

            2) Background  . Current state law authorizes health plans and  








                                                                  AB 1541
                                                                  Page  2

             insurers to exclude late enrollees, as defined, from group  
             health care coverage for up to twelve months from the date of  
             the enrollee's application for coverage.  State law defines a  
             late enrollee as an eligible employee or dependent who  
             previously declined group health coverage and who later  
             requests enrollment in that plan. This bill increases the  
             time period under which an individual may not be denied  
             coverage by extending the time until an individual is deemed  
             a late enrollee. 



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081