This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to immediately enact the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2009.
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a temporary high risk health insurance pool program to provide health insurance coverage for eligible individuals until January 1, 2014. Existing law authorizes the secretary to implement this program directly or through contracts with eligible entities, including the states, and requires that federal money made available pursuant to these provisions be used to establish a qualified high risk pool that meets certain requirements. Existing law establishes the California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, which is administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) , to provide major risk medical coverage to persons who, among other things, have been rejected for coverage by at least one private health plan. This bill would require MRMIB to enter into an agreement with the federal Department of Health and Human Services to administer a temporary high risk pool to provide health coverage, until January 1, 2014, to specified individuals who have preexisting conditions, consistent with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020. The bill would also appropriate $761,000,000 from the Federal Trust Fund to MRMIB for the purposes of these provisions. 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 also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or a health insurer that rejects an applicant for individual coverage or offers individual coverage at a rate higher than the standard rate to inform the applicant about the California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program. This bill would also require the plan or insurer to inform the applicant about the temporary high risk pool established pursuant to the bill and would require that information to be provided in accordance with standards developed by the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance, as specified. Because a willful violation of this requirement by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to post information on their Internet Web sites about the temporary high risk pool established pursuant to the bill. 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. This bill would provide that it shall become operative only if AB 1887 of the 2009–10 Regular Session is also enacted and becomes operative. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a temporary high risk health insurance pool program to provide health insurance coverage for eligible individuals until January 1, 2014. Existing law authorizes the secretary to carry out this program directly or through contracts to eligible entities, including states, and requires that money made available pursuant to these provisions be used to establish a qualified high risk pool that meets certain requirements. Existing law establishes the California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, which is administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) , to provide major risk medical coverage to persons who, among other matters, have been rejected for coverage by at least one private health plan. This bill would establish the Federal Temporary High Risk Health Insurance Fund as a continuously appropriated fund to administer the qualified high risk pool required by federal law, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020. Existing law exempts from the Public Records Act records of MRMIB related to contract negotiations and deliberations, and exempts from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act matters related to the development of rates and contracting strategy for entities contracting or seeking to contract with MRMIB. This bill would add to those exemptions records and meetings of MRMIB with regard to contract negotiations with entities with which MRMIB is considering or enters into any arrangement under which MRMIB provides, receives, or arranges services or reimbursement, including those negotiations conducted for purposes of the qualified high risk pool and the fund created by the bill. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would provide that it shall become operative only if SB 227 of the 2009–10 Regular Session is also enacted and becomes operative. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would encourage the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to amend the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments regulations to, and the Congress and the President of the United States to enact legislation that would, allow qualified nondoctoral, nonboard certified persons to serve as laboratory directors of local public health laboratories, if they are qualified to direct those laboratories under the law of the state in which the laboratory is located, with the express goals of ensuring adequate local public health laboratory support for response to communicable disease events, ensuring an adequate supply of local public health laboratory directors, and ensuring protection for the balance of the nation by increasing national security through adequate disease identification. This measure would encourage specified federal entities to also encourage CMS and the Congress and President of the United States to accomplish these goals in this manner.
Existing federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) , requires group health plans providing coverage to employers of 20 or more employees to provide former employees with continuation of benefits, as specified. The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides up to 9 months of premium assistance under COBRA and comparable state continuation coverage programs for certain eligible individuals whose employment was involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, as specified. Subsequent federal legislation extends that premium assistance for a specified period of time, makes the assistance available to certain eligible individuals whose employment is involuntarily terminated on or after January 1, 2010, and provides a special election opportunity for certain eligible individuals who experience a reduction in hours followed by an involuntary termination of employment, as specified. Existing federal law requires a plan administrator or other entity involved to provide notices regarding that assistance to certain qualified beneficiaries within specified periods of time. 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 also provides for regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. The California Continuation Benefits Replacement Act (Cal-COBRA) requires health care service plans and health insurers providing group coverage to employers of 2 to 19 employees to offer continuation of that coverage for a specified period of time to certain qualified beneficiaries, as specified. Existing law requires Cal-COBRA plans and insurers to provide notice of the availability of premium assistance under ARRA to qualified beneficiaries who experience a qualifying event between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, as specified. This bill would require those plans and insurers to also provide notice of the availability of premium assistance to qualified beneficiaries who experience a qualifying event between January 1, 2010, and specified dates under federal law and would additionally require plans and insurers to notify qualified beneficiaries eligible for premium assistance of the extension of premium assistance made available by federal law consistent with the notice requirements imposed under that law. The bill would require plans and insurers to give certain qualified beneficiaries whose employment is terminated on or after March 1, 2010, written notice regarding the availability of premium assistance and the special election opportunity provided under ARRA and would allow beneficiaries eligible for that or any other special election opportunity under ARRA to elect continuation coverage within 60 days of the notice required under federal law. The bill would also require plans and insurers to provide information regarding the federal premium assistance and any special election periods under ARRA on their Internet Web sites, as specified, and would apply certain notice requirements to employers of employees whose employment has been terminated on or after March 2, 2010. The bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care to designate model notices for purposes of implementing federal premium assistance, as specified, and would make other conforming changes. Because a willful violation of these requirements 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would designate Friday, May 7, 2010, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers.
This measure would urge the Department of Justice to ensure compliance with a requirement that the department develop a standard format to be used statewide for purposes of reporting secondhand dealer transactions.
(1) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority and authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds to provide industry with an alternative method of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of facilities utilizing alternative methods and sources of energy and facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies. Existing law authorizes a public agency and a property owner to enter into voluntary contractual assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements that are permanently affixed on real property. This bill would require the authority to establish a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Reserve program to assist local jurisdictions in financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements meeting specified requirements that are permanently affixed on real property through the use of a voluntary contractual assessment. The bill would, until January 1, 2015, appropriate up to $50,000,000 from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund to the authority for the purposes of the PACE Reserve program. The bill would require the authority, on March 31, 2011, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2015, to submit to the Legislature a report containing specified information regarding the implementation of the above provisions. (2) Existing law vests the authority with specified powers in the implementation of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act. This bill would authorize the authority to purchase bonds issued by a public agency meeting specified criteria. The bill would authorize the authority to hold the purchased bonds or to sell the purchased bonds, in whole or in part, to public or private purchasers. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would proclaim the week of April 23 to April 30, 2010, inclusive, as Black April Memorial Week, a special time for Californians to remember the countless lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for a more humane and just life for the people of Vietnam.
