Health care coverage programs: transition.

Existing law creates various programs to provide health care services to persons who meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program, the Access for Infants and Mothers Program, the County Health Initiative Matching Fund, the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, and the Federal Temporary High Risk Pool, all 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 the transition of specified enrollees of the Healthy Families Program to the Medi-Cal program, to the extent that those individuals are otherwise eligible. Existing law also provides that employees of the board whose functions are transferred to the Medi-Cal program as a result of that transition retain their positions, status, and rights. Existing law requires the board, beginning July 1, 2013, to cease the provision of health coverage through the Federal Temporary High Risk Pool, except as specified. Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) , and requires the Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers by January 1, 2014. Existing law also requires the Exchange to undertake activities necessary to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and federal subsidies through the Exchange and to undertake outreach and enrollment activities. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to provide the Exchange with specified contact information for individuals who are not enrolled in Medi-Cal but who are the parents or caretakers of children enrolled in the Healthy Families Program or the Medi-Cal program, as specified, in order to assist the Exchange in conducting outreach to individuals potentially eligible for an insurance affordability program, as defined. This bill would transfer to the Exchange civil service employees of the board who were assigned to the Federal Temporary High Risk Pool and would require that each transferred employee retain his or her status, position, and rights. The bill would also require that, if the board is dissolved or terminated, all employees assigned to the other programs administered by the board be transferred to the State Department of Health Care Services and that each transferred employee retain his or her status, position, and rights. The bill would provide that any employee's reinstatement rights that would have applied to the board shall instead apply to the department. The bill would require the department, if employees of the board are transferred to the department, to prepare a report, as specified, and to submit that report to the fiscal and relevant policy committees of the Legislature by February 1 of the year following the year in which the employees are transferred, and to update that report, as specified.