SB 890 would stabilize the individual health insurance market and help Californians buy the best type of insurance suited to their needs. It would also be broader in scope than the recently enacted federal law.
By standardizing the individual insurance market, SB 890 would allow consumers to clearly compare health plans based on similarity, coverage and price. Currently, anyone who wants to purchase an individual insurance policy is presented with more than 100 options, causing confusion and making it almost impossible to make an appropriate choice.
Consumers would be given the freedom for the first time to switch to an equal or lower priced plan after one year, either within their health plan or to another health plan. Currently, consumers can only switch plans after 18 months, and only within their plan.
SB 900 would establish the California Health Insurance Exchange. A main feature of federal health reform legislation is the establishment a state level health insurance exchanges that will enable individuals to comparison shop for health coverage, facilitate their enrollment in coverage, and administer tax subsidies for low- to moderate-income people.
SB 900 would require insurers to offer five plan levels -- Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Catastrophic. This would give people a broader choice of individual plans that is more extensive than federal law, which only requires plans to offer a Silver and Gold plan.
By standardizing the individual insurance market, SB 890 would allow consumers to clearly compare health plans based on similarity, coverage and price. Currently, anyone who wants to purchase an individual insurance policy is presented with more than 100 options, causing confusion and making it almost impossible to make an appropriate choice.
Consumers would be given the freedom for the first time to switch to an equal or lower priced plan after one year, either within their health plan or to another health plan. Currently, consumers can only switch plans after 18 months, and only within their plan.
SB 900 would establish the California Health Insurance Exchange. A main feature of federal health reform legislation is the establishment a state level health insurance exchanges that will enable individuals to comparison shop for health coverage, facilitate their enrollment in coverage, and administer tax subsidies for low- to moderate-income people.
SB 900 would require insurers to offer five plan levels -- Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Catastrophic. This would give people a broader choice of individual plans that is more extensive than federal law, which only requires plans to offer a Silver and Gold plan.
Do you know the target start date? Thanks, Joe D
ReplyDeleteSB 890:
ReplyDeleteThe bill would require plans to, on and after July 1, 2011, discontinue
offering and selling benefit plan designs other than the standards benefit
plan designs, but would require plans and insurers to renew benefit
plan designs issued prior to that date until July 1, 2012.
The bill would require the commission to develop a standardized
enrollment questionnaire to be used by all plans and insurers when
offering and selling individual coverage, but would prohibit plans and insurers
from requesting or obtaining health information from applicants
eligible for guaranteed issuance of coverage on and after January 1,
2014.
This bill would require health insurance policies issued, amended, or
renewed on or after January 1, 2011, to provide coverage for medically
necessary basic health care services, as defined, and would prohibit
those policies from imposing annual or lifetime limits on basic health
care services.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0851-0900/sb_890_bill_20100413_amended_sen_v97.pdf
SB 900
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
requires each state to, by January 1, 2014, establish an American Health
Benefit Exchange that makes available qualified health plans to qualified
individuals and qualified employers, as specified, and meets certain
other requirements. Existing law provides for the licensure and
regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed
Health Care and the regulation of health insurers by the Department
of Insurance. Existing law creates the California Health and Human
Services Agency, which consists of various departments.
This bill would establish the California Health Benefits Exchange
(the Exchange) within the California Health and Human Services
Agency and would require the Exchange to, among other things,
implement specified functions imposed by the federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act in a consumer-friendly manner, enter into
contracts with health care service plans and health insurers seeking to
offer coverage in the Exchange, and provide a choice in each region
of the state between 5 levels of coverage, as specified. The bill would
authorize the Exchange to take other various actions and would require
the Exchange to be governed by a board composed of an unspecified
number of members appointed by the Governor and the Legislature in
an unspecified manner. The bill would create the California Health
Benefits Exchange Fund in the State Treasury and would authorize the
board to use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
for purposes of these provisions.