Discrimination.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans and makes a willful violation of its provisions a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan and a health insurance policy to provide group coverage to the registered domestic partner of an employee, subscriber, insured, or policyholder that is equal to the coverage it provides to the spouse of those persons. This bill would specify that a plan or policy may not discriminate in coverage between spouses or domestic partners of a different sex and spouses or domestic partners of the same sex. Existing law provides that a policy or certificate of health insurance marketed, issued, or delivered to a California resident, regardless of the situs of the contract or master group policyholder, is generally subject to California insurance law, except for a policy issued outside of California to an employer whose principal place of business and majority of employees are located outside of California. This bill would provide that every group health care service plan contract and every group health insurance policy that is marketed, issued, or delivered to a California resident is subject to the requirements to provide equal coverage to domestic partners as is provided to spouses, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The bill would also provide that notwithstanding the exception for a policy issued outside of California to an employer whose principal place of business and majority of employees are located outside of California, no policy or certificate of health insurance marketed, issued, or delivered to a resident of this state shall discriminate in coverage between spouses or domestic partners of a different sex and spouses or domestic partners of the same sex. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.