School lunch program applications: health care notice.

Existing law creates various programs to provide health care services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and the Medi-Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law provides for a school lunch program under which eligible pupils receive free or reduced-price meals. Existing law authorizes the sharing of the school lunch program application with the county agency administering the Medi-Cal program for use in making an accelerated Medi-Cal eligibility determination for pupils eligible for free meals. Existing law provides for the sending of a Healthy Families Program application to pupils determined to be ineligible for Medi-Cal coverage. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2014, require the notices to include prescribed advisements about the availability of free or reduced-cost comprehensive health care coverage through Medi-Cal or the California Health Benefit Exchange, respectively. The bill would authorize a school district also to include the notices in certain notifications required at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term. The bill would require a county that receives the information provided on a school lunch program application, for a pupil who is not already enrolled in a health insurance affordability program, to treat the school lunch program application as an application for a health insurance affordability program, as specified.