Health care coverage: dependent adults.

Existing law establishes the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) in the California Department of Aging to provide Medicare beneficiaries and those imminently eligible for Medicare with counseling and advocacy regarding health care coverage options. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires an individual health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2023, that provides dependent coverage to make dependent coverage available to a qualified dependent parent or stepparent. Existing law requires a plan, an insurer, or the California Health Benefit Exchange to provide an applicant seeking to add a dependent parent or stepparent with written notice about HICAP at the time of solicitation and on the application. This bill would clarify that a health care service plan, a health insurer, or a solicitor is required to provide an individual with the name, address, and telephone number of the local HICAP program and the statewide HICAP telephone number at the time of solicitation and, for a plan or insurer, on the application. Because a violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to ensure an individual is informed of and understands their specific rights and health care options before enrolling a Medicare-eligible or enrolled dependent parent or stepparent in individual health care coverage. 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.