Dependent parent health care coverage.

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 authorizes an individual to add a dependent to their health care service plan contract or health insurance policy, including adding a dependent outside of an initial enrollment period if certain criteria are met. Existing law defines "dependent" for the purpose of an individual contract or policy to mean the spouse, registered domestic partner, or child of an individual. 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. This bill would require 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. The bill would require 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 and would require a solicitor or agent to provide specified HICAP contact information, as specified. The bill would expand the definition of "dependent" for an individual health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to include a qualified dependent parent or stepparent. 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.