State Lawmakers Push for Bills To Implement Reform Law Provisions
While Republicans in Congress are ratcheting up efforts to defund portions of the federal health reform law, California legislators are advancing legislation to implement provisions of the overhaul early and ensure that residents understand the law's benefits, California Watch reports.
Details of the California Bills
Some of the reform law-related bills making their way through California's Legislature include:
- SB 155, by Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), which would require insurers to cover maternity services as an "essential benefit" before such coverage becomes mandatory under the reform law in 2014;
- AB 1334, by Assembly member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), which would require insurers to provide notification to consumers who purchase or renew individual health insurance policies that do not offer minimum essential benefits and would categorize health plans based on their coverage levels starting in 2014;
- AB 714, by Assembly member Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), which would require public health insurance programs to notify individuals who might be eligible for the state's health insurance exchange before it is operational;
- AB 792, by Assembly member Susan Bonilla (D-Concord), which aims to ensure that people filing for divorce or unemployment compensation receive notification about the state's health insurance exchange; and
- AB 43, by Assembly member Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which would conform state law to federal law by expanding the demographic groups that can be covered by Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program (Jewett, California Watch, 5/4).