BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2706
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2706 (Hernández) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Health
Committee and will be heard as it relates to issues under its
jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT : Schools: health care coverage
SUMMARY : Requires parents and guardians to make a written
disclosure stating whether their child, upon enrollment in a
public school, is covered by health care coverage and the school
to which the disclosure is made, take specified actions, as
appropriate. Specifically, this bill :
1) Requires, commencing with the 2015-16 school year, all
parents, upon first enrolling their child in a public
school's transitional kindergarten, kindergarten or first
grade, to make a written disclosure stating whether their
child is either of the following:
a) Covered by health care coverage and provide
proof of this coverage. If the pupil is covered, the
parent or guardian must also indicate whether he/she
believes this coverage constitutes minimum essential
coverage under Section 500A of the federal Internal
Revenue Code. The parent or guardian may,
alternatively, indicate that he/she is not certain
whether the coverage meets the minimum essential
coverage.
b) Not covered by health care coverage that
constitutes minimum essential coverage under Section
500A of the federal Internal Revenue Code. If the
pupil is not covered, the parent or guardian shall
also disclose whether he/she believes the pupil is
exempt from the requirement to maintain essential
coverage.
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2) Requires a public school to provide written notice to
the parent or guardian that when he/she makes this
disclosure of health care coverage, that the information
the parent or guardian provides will only be used for the
purpose of determining whether the parent of guardian
should be directed to other resources for the purpose of
obtaining health care coverage for the pupil.
3) Requires the school district to make a reasonable effort
to direct the parent or guardian that has indicated his or
her pupil lacks health coverage that meets the minimum
essential coverage, to the resources necessary to obtain
affordable health care coverage for the pupil that
constitutes minimum essential coverage, as required by law.
4) Prohibits a school district from discriminating against
a pupil who does not have health care coverage or prevent a
pupil from enrolling based on his/her lack of health care
coverage or inability to show proof of coverage.
5) Permits the California Department of Education (CDE) to
develop a standardized template for the written disclosure
developed by this section.
6) Specifies that if the CDE does make such a template
available, this template must be available on the CDE's Web
site, upon request written copies must be made available to
a school district, and requires that the template include a
statement indicating that the information disclosed shall
only be used for the purpose of determining whether a
parent or guardian of a pupil should be directed to other
resources for the purposes of obtaining health care
coverage for the pupil.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Requires, effective January 1, 2014, under the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), an
individual to have the option to apply for state subsidy
programs, which include the state Medicaid program, the
state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP),
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enrollment in a qualified health plan (QHP) through a state
exchange, and a Basic Health Plan (BHP), if there is one,
either in person, mail, online, telephone, or other
commonly available electronic means.
2) Requires, under the ACA, effective in 2014, individuals
to maintain health insurance or pay a penalty, with
exceptions for financial hardship (if health insurance
premiums exceed 8% of a household's adjusted gross income),
religion, incarceration, and immigration status.
3) Creates the Exchange, known as Covered California, as an
independent state entity governed by a five-member board,
to be a marketplace for Californians to purchase
affordable, quality health care coverage and as a way to
meet the personal responsibility requirements of the ACA.
4) Permits school districts or county superintendents of
schools to incorporate into the School Lunch Program
application packet or notification of eligibility for the
School Lunch Program using simple and culturally
appropriate language, notification that the child may
qualify for free or reduced-cost health coverage under the
California Health Benefit Exchange.
FISCAL EFFECT : State-mandated local program.
COMMENTS :
According to the author, the expansion of health care coverage
options under the ACA generated approximately seven million
newly eligible Californians as of January 1, 2014. Of those 7
million, nearly one million children under the age 18 are
uninsured and 67% of these qualify for Medi-Cal<1>. There is
great opportunity in 2014 to enroll these eligible children;
however notable barriers exist for eligible populations to
enroll in Medi-Cal including lack of awareness about the
programs, difficult application or re-enrollment processes, and
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<1>"California Health Care Almanac Quick Reference Guide,
California's Uninsured: A supplement to California HealthCare
Foundation's California's Uninsured: By the Numbers," California
HealthCare Foundation. May 2013.
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stigmas associated with enrolling in low-income health insurance
and other public programs<2>. While the ACA will dramatically
reduce the number of uninsured Californians, a significant
number of eligible children will be left behind in the absence
of proactive and practical solutions.
Disclosure of Health Care Coverage
Every parent or guardian will be required to indicate whether
their child, upon enrollment in transitional kindergarten,
kindergarten, or grade 1, has the minimum essential coverage as
required by the ACA. The committee may wish to consider whether
the requirement that schools collect this information will have
unintended consequences. For example, parents may be
discouraged from enrolling their child in non-compulsory
programs such as transitional kindergarten or kindergarten if he
or she fears being uninsured or underinsured will adversely
affect their ability to enroll their child. Specifically, a
parent may be concerned that the form requires disclosure of
his/her or the child's immigration status. Therefore, committee
staff recommends an amendment to delete the requirement that a
parent or guardian indicate that their child is exempt from the
minimum essential coverage requirement. Committee staff also
recommends an amendment that will allow a parent or guardian to
decline to disclose any of the information required by this
disclosure form.
The committee may also wish to consider whether this bill places
unreasonable and unsustainable expectations on parents or
guardians and school employees. This bill requires a parent or
guardian to determine whether the pupil's health care coverage
meets the statutory requirements of the ACA and similarly
requires schools to provide guidance to those parents or
guardians who may need assistance in completing this disclosure.
While the intent of the bill is simply to use schools as a
place to identify and access uninsured or underinsured children,
there may be more effective means by which to achieve this goal.
For example, the committee may wish to consider whether schools
should instead be required to distribute resources from existing
community organizations designed to assist families with
---------------------------
<2> Laurel Lucia, Ken Jacobs, M. Miranda Dietz, Dave
Graham-Squire, Nadereh Pourat, and Dylan H. Roby. "After
Millions of Californians Gain Health Coverage under the
Affordable Care Act, Who Will Remain Uninsured?" UCLA Center for
Health Policy Research, UC Berkeley Labor Center, CalSIM,
September 2012
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enrollment options or partner with local community health
centers where other health services required by statute (such as
oral health examination and vaccines) are performed to
distribute this information.
Arguments in Support
According to the author, this bill seeks to reduce the number of
eligible, but uninsured children by requiring parents or legal
guardians to show proof of health coverage for children being
enrolled into transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grade
1. Parents/guardians of children without health insurance at the
time of school enrollment will be directly referred to qualified
community enrollment entities and counselors who can provide
them with free enrollment assistance into an affordable health
plan. In so doing, California can ensure more of California's
young students will obtain coverage and the potential for
greater educational achievement that comes with it.
Previous Legislation
AB 422 (Nazarian), Chapter 444, Statutes of 2013, adds
information regarding health care coverage available through the
California Health Benefit Exchange, known as Covered California,
to notifications that may be included at the option of the
school district or county superintendent on applications for the
School Lunch Program, effective January 1, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coverage & and Health Initiatives
Children Now
Children's Defense Fund-California
El Monte Union High School District
El Rancho Unified School District
Lynwood Unified School District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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