California Health Benefit Exchange: employees and contractors.

Under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , each state is required, by January 1, 2014, to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange that makes available qualified health plans to qualified individuals and small employers. Existing state law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) within state government, specifies the powers and duties of the board governing the Exchange, and requires the board to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers by January 1, 2014. Existing law requires the board to employ necessary staff and authorizes the board to enter into contracts. Existing law requires the board, consistent with federal guidance applicable to state-based exchanges, to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information of specified individuals whose duties include or would include access to confidential information, personal identifying information, personal health information, federal tax information, financial information, or any other information as required by federal law or guidance applicable to state-based exchanges for the purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions and information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her recognizance pending trial or appeal. This bill would revise these provisions to require that the fingerprint images and related information be submitted to the Department of Justice consistent with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) , Catalog of Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for Exchanges (MARS-E) , Exchange Reference Architecture Supplement version 1.0, issued on August 12, 2012, or further updates, guidance, or regulations, for those individuals whose duties include or would include access to the specified information contained in the information systems and devices of the Exchange. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.