BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1580|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1580
Author: Bonilla (D)
Amended: 8/9/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 6-3, 6/6/12
AYES: Hernandez, Alquist, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
NOES: Harman, Anderson, Blakeslee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-24, 4/23/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Health care: eligibility: enrollment
SOURCE : Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST : This bill makes technical and clarifying changes
to AB 1296 (Bonilla), Chapter 641, Statutes of 2011, the
Health Care Reform Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention
Planning Act (Act) relating to applications for state
health subsidy programs.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/9/12 conform state law to a
specific provision of federal regulations implementing the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that allows
people to apply to state health subsidy programs through
commonly available electronic means, instead of through
facsimile. Existing state law requires that individuals be
provided the option to apply for state health subsidy
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programs (such as the Medi-Cal Program and tax subsidies
available through the California Health Benefit Exchange)
in person, by mail, online, by telephone, or by facsimile.
Federal regulations published in March 2012 to implement a
parallel federal requirement in the Act use the phrase
"through other commonly available electronic means" instead
of the word "facsimile." These amendments make this
parallel change in state law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the
Department of Health Care Services, to provide health
care services and long-term care to pregnant women,
children, and people who are aged, blind, and disabled.
2.Requires, under the Act, a single, accessible,
standardized paper, electronic, and telephone application
for state health subsidy programs to be developed by the
Department of Health Care Services in consultation with
the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and the
California Health Benefit Exchange board as part of a
stakeholder process. Requires the application to be used
by all entities authorized to make an eligibility
determination for any of the state health subsidy
programs and by their agents.
3.Makes certain limited categories of individuals
presumptively eligible for Medi-Cal (children moving from
Healthy Families to Medi-Cal and vice versa, comatose or
amnesia patients arriving at a county health facility,
individuals requiring treatment for breast or cervical
cancer, and pregnant women), providing immediate and
temporary Medi-Cal coverage.
4.Establishes, under the Act, requirements for the
application for state health subsidy programs, including
a requirement that an applicant be provided benefits in
accordance with the rules of the state health subsidy
program, as implemented in federal regulations and
guidance for which he or she otherwise qualifies until a
determination is made that he or she is not eligible and
all applicable notices have been provided.
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This bill:
1.Clarifies that nothing in a provision of the Act is to be
interpreted to grant presumptive eligibility if it is not
otherwise required by state law and if so required, then
only to the extent permitted by federal law.
2.Narrows a provision of the Act that requires an
individual screened as ineligible for Medi-Cal on the
basis of Modified Adjusted Gross Income but who may be
potentially eligible for Medi-Cal on another basis to
have his or her application forwarded to the Medi-Cal
program for an eligibility determination. Instead of this
requirement applying to individuals who are potentially
eligible on another basis, this bill limits the
requirement that the application be forwarded to only
those individuals who may be Medi-Cal-eligible on the
basis of being 65 years of age or older or on the basis
of blindness or disability.
3.Makes other technical and clarifying changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/12)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Immigrant Policy Center
Children Now
Children's Defense Fund-California
The Children's Partnership
Health Access California
National Health Law Program
United Way of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill is sponsored by Western
Center on Law & Poverty to fulfill the terms of an
agreement made with the California Health and Human
Services Agency staff to amend the language of AB 1296.
The first clarification relates to a provision of the bill
that states that an individual who is not eligible for
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Medi-Cal based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income but "who
may be potentially eligible for Medi-Cal on another basis
shall have his or her application or case forwarded to the
Medi-Cal program for an eligibility determination." The
agency staff expressed a concern that this could be a broad
group of people who would have to have a full Medi-Cal
determination. The agency staff asked that the language
specify and limit these populations to individuals who may
be eligible on the basis of being age 65 or older or who
are blind or disabled. The second change sought by the
agency staff was that the bill language be clarified that
one of its provisions does not grant presumptive Medi-Cal
eligibility to any new populations. This bill contains
both of these changes.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-24, 04/23/12
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter,
Chesbro, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Brownley, Charles Calderon,
Cedillo, Davis, Fletcher, Furutani, Nestande, Smyth
CTW:n 8/15/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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