Upon the effective date of this act:
(a) No group or individual policy or contract or certificate of group insurance or statement of group coverage providing benefits to employees of small employers as defined in this chapter shall be issued or delivered by a carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner regardless of the situs of the contract or master policyholder or of the domicile of the carrier nor, except as otherwise provided in Sections 10270.91 and 10270.92, shall a carrier provide coverage subject to this chapter until a copy of the form of the policy, contract, certificate, or statement of coverage is filed with and approved by the commissioner in accordance with Sections 10290 and 10291, and the carrier has complied with the requirements of Section 10717.
(b) (1) Each carrier, except a self-funded employer, shall fairly and affirmatively offer, market, and sell all of the carrier’s benefit plan designs that are sold to, offered through, or sponsored by, small employers or associations that include small employers to all small employers in each geographic region in which the carrier makes coverage available or provides benefits.
(2) A carrier contracting to participate in the Voluntary Alliance Uniting Employers Purchasing Program shall be deemed to be in compliance with paragraph (1) for a benefit plan design offered through the program in those geographic regions in which the carrier participates in the program and the benefit plan design is offered exclusively through the program.
(3) (A) A carrier shall be deemed to meet the requirements of paragraph (1) and subdivision (c) with respect to a benefit plan design that qualifies as a grandfathered health plan under Section 1251 of PPACA if all of the following requirements are met:
(i) The carrier offers to renew the benefit plan design, unless the carrier withdraws the benefit plan design from the small employer market pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 10713.
(ii) The carrier provides appropriate notice of the grandfathered status of the benefit plan design in any materials provided to an insured of the design describing the benefits provided under the design, as required under PPACA.
(iii) The carrier makes no changes to the benefits covered under the benefit plan design other than those required by a state or federal law, regulation, rule, or guidance and those permitted to be made to a grandfathered health plan under PPACA.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “PPACA” means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), and any rules, regulations, or guidance issued thereunder. For purposes of this paragraph, a “grandfathered health plan” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1251 of PPACA.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an association, or a trust established and maintained by an association to receive a master insurance policy issued by an admitted insurer and to administer the benefits thereof solely for association members, to offer, market or sell a benefit plan design to those who are not members of the association. However, if the association markets, offers or sells a benefit plan design to those who are not members of the association it is subject to the requirements of this section. This shall apply to an association that otherwise meets the requirements of paragraph (8) formed by merger of two or more associations after January 1, 1992, if the predecessor organizations had been in active existence on January 1, 1992, and for at least five years prior to that date and met the requirements of paragraph (5).
(5) A carrier which (A) effective January 1, 1992, and at least 20 years prior to that date, markets, offers, or sells benefit plan designs only to all members of one association and (B) does not market, offer or sell any other individual, selected group, or group policy or contract providing medical, hospital and surgical benefits shall not be required to market, offer, or sell to those who are not members of the association. However, if the carrier markets, offers or sells any benefit plan design or any other individual, selected group, or group policy or contract providing medical, hospital and surgical benefits to those who are not members of the association it is subject to the requirements of this section.
(6) Each carrier that sells health benefit plans to members of one association pursuant to paragraph (5) shall submit an annual statement to the commissioner which states that the carrier is selling health benefit plans pursuant to paragraph (5) and which, for the one association, lists all the information required by paragraph (7).
(7) Each carrier that sells health benefit plans to members of any association shall submit an annual statement to the commissioner which lists each association to which the carrier sells health benefit plans, the industry or profession which is served by the association, the association’s membership criteria, a list of officers, the state in which the association is organized, and the site of its principal office.
(8) For purposes of paragraphs (4) and (5), an association is a nonprofit organization comprised of a group of individuals or employers who associate based solely on participation in a specified profession or industry, accepting for membership any individual or small employer meeting its membership criteria, which do not condition membership directly or indirectly on the health or claims history of any person, which uses membership dues solely for and in consideration of the membership and membership benefits, except that the amount of the dues shall not depend on whether the member applies for or purchases insurance offered by the association, which is organized and maintained in good faith for purposes unrelated to insurance, which has been in active existence on January 1, 1992, and at least five years prior to that date, which has a constitution and bylaws, or other analogous governing documents which provide for election of the governing board of the association by its members, which has contracted with one or more carriers to offer one or more health benefit plans to all individual members and small employer members in this state.
(c) Each carrier shall make available to each small employer all benefit plan designs that the carrier offers or sells to small employers or to associations that include small employers. Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 10700, for purposes of this subdivision, companies that are affiliated companies or that are eligible to file a consolidated income tax return shall be treated as one carrier.
(d) Each carrier shall do all of the following:
(1) Prepare a brochure that summarizes all of its benefit plan designs and make this summary available to small employers, agents and brokers upon request. The summary shall include for each benefit plan design information on benefits provided, a generic description of the manner in which services are provided, such as how access to providers is limited, benefit limitations, required copayments and deductibles, standard employee risk rates, an explanation of how creditable coverage is calculated if a preexisting condition or affiliation period is imposed, and a telephone number that can be called for more detailed benefit information. Carriers are required to keep the information contained in the brochure accurate and up to date, and, upon updating the brochure, send copies to agents and brokers representing the carrier. Any entity that provides administrative services only with regard to a benefit plan design written or issued by another carrier shall not be required to prepare a summary brochure which includes that benefit plan design.
(2) For each benefit plan design, prepare a more detailed evidence of coverage and make it available to small employers, agents and brokers upon request. The evidence of coverage shall contain all information that a prudent buyer would need to be aware of in making selections of benefit plan designs. An entity that provides administrative services only with regard to a benefit plan design written or issued by another carrier shall not be required to prepare an evidence of coverage for that benefit plan design.
(3) Provide to small employers, agents, and brokers, upon request, for any given small employer the sum of the standard employee risk rates and the sum of the risk adjusted standard employee risk rates. When requesting this information, small employers, agents and brokers shall provide the carrier with the information the carrier needs to determine the small employer’s risk adjusted employee risk rate.
(4) Provide copies of the current summary brochure to all agents or brokers who represent the carrier and, upon updating the brochure, send copies of the updated brochure to agents and brokers representing the carrier for the purpose of selling health benefit plans.
(5) Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 10700, for purposes of this subdivision, companies that are affiliated companies or that are eligible to file a consolidated income tax return shall be treated as one carrier.
(e) Every agent or broker representing one or more carriers for the purpose of selling health benefit plans to small employers shall do all of the following:
(1) When providing information on a health benefit plan to a small employer but making no specific recommendations on particular benefit plan designs:
(A) Advise the small employer of the carrier’s obligation to sell to any small employer any of the benefit plan designs it offers to small employers and provide them, upon request, with the actual rates that would be charged to that employer for a given benefit plan design.
(B) Notify the small employer that the agent or broker will procure rate and benefit information for the small employer on any benefit plan design offered by a carrier for whom the agent or broker sells health benefit plans.
(C) Notify the small employer that, upon request, the agent or broker will provide the small employer with the summary brochure required in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) for any benefit plan design offered by a carrier whom the agent or broker represents.
(2) When recommending a particular benefit plan design or designs, advise the small employer that, upon request, the agent will provide the small employer with the brochure required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) containing the benefit plan design or designs being recommended by the agent or broker.
(3) Prior to filing an application for a small employer for a particular health benefit plan:
(A) For each of the benefit plan designs offered by the carrier whose benefit plan design the agent or broker is presenting, provide the small employer with the benefit summary required in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) and the sum of the standard employee risk rates for that particular employer.
(B) Notify the small employer that, upon request, the agent or broker will provide the small employer with an evidence of coverage brochure for each benefit plan design the carrier offers.
(C) Notify the small employer that, from July 1, 1993, to July 1, 1996, actual rates may be 20 percent higher or lower than the sum of the standard employee risk rates, and from July 1, 1996, and thereafter, actual rates may be 10 percent higher or lower than the sum of the standard employee risk rates depending on how the carrier assesses the risk of the small employer’s group.
(D) Notify the small employer that, upon request, the agent or broker will submit information to the carrier to ascertain the small employer’s sum of the risk adjusted standard employee risk rate for any benefit plan design the carrier offers.
(E) Obtain a signed statement from the small employer acknowledging that the small employer has received the disclosures required by this paragraph and Section 10716.
(f) No carrier, agent, or broker shall induce or otherwise encourage a small employer to separate or otherwise exclude an eligible employee from a health benefit plan which, in the case of an eligible employee meeting the definition in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 10700, is provided in connection with the employee’s employment or which, in the case of an eligible employee as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 17000, is provided in connection with a guaranteed association.
(g) No carrier shall reject an application from a small employer for a benefit plan design provided:
(1) The small employer as defined by paragraph (1) of subdivision (w) of Section 10700 offers health benefits to 100 percent of its eligible employees as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 10700. Employees who waive coverage on the grounds that they have other group coverage shall not be counted as eligible employees.
(2) The small employer agrees to make the required premium payments.
(h) No carrier or agent or broker shall, directly or indirectly, engage in the following activities:
(1) Encourage or direct small employers to refrain from filing an application for coverage with a carrier because of the health status, claims experience, industry, occupation, or geographic location within the carrier’s approved service area of the small employer or the small employer’s employees.
(2) Encourage or direct small employers to seek coverage from another carrier or the program because of the health status, claims experience, industry, occupation, or geographic location within the carrier’s approved service area of the small employer or the small employer’s employees.
(i) No carrier shall, directly or indirectly, enter into any contract, agreement, or arrangement with an agent or broker that provides for or results in the compensation paid to an agent or broker for a health benefit plan to be varied because of the health status, claims experience, industry, occupation, or geographic location of the small employer or the small employer’s employees. This subdivision shall not apply with respect to a compensation arrangement that provides compensation to an agent or broker on the basis of percentage of premium, provided that the percentage shall not vary because of the health status, claims experience, industry, occupation, or geographic area of the small employer.
(j) Except in the case of a late insured, or for satisfaction of a preexisting condition clause in the case of initial coverage of an eligible employee, a disability insurer may not exclude any eligible employee or dependent who would otherwise be entitled to health care services on the basis of any of the following: the health status, the medical condition, including both physical and mental illnesses, the claims experience, the medical history, the genetic information, or the disability or evidence of insurability, including conditions arising out of acts of domestic violence of that employee or dependent. No health benefit plan may limit or exclude coverage for a specific eligible employee or dependent by type of illness, treatment, medical condition, or accident, except for preexisting conditions as permitted by Section 10198.7 or 10708.
(k) If a carrier enters into a contract, agreement, or other arrangement with a third-party administrator or other entity to provide administrative, marketing, or other services related to the offering of health benefit plans to small employers in this state, the third-party administrator shall be subject to this chapter.
(l) (1) With respect to the obligation to provide coverage newly issued under subdivision (d), the carrier may cease enrolling new small employer groups and new eligible employees as defined by paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 10700 if it certifies to the commissioner that the number of eligible employees and dependents, of the employers newly enrolled or insured during the current calendar year by the carrier equals or exceeds: (A) in the case of a carrier that administers any self-funded health benefits arrangement in California, 10 percent of the total number of eligible employees, or eligible employees and dependents, respectively, enrolled or insured in California by that carrier as of December 31 of the preceding year, or (B) in the case of a carrier that does not administer any self-funded health benefit arrangements in California, 8 percent of the total number of eligible employees, or eligible employees and dependents, respectively, enrolled or insured by the carrier in California as of December 31 of the preceding year.
(2) Certification shall be deemed approved if not disapproved within 45 days after submission to the commissioner. If that certification is approved, the small employer carrier shall not offer coverage to any small employers under any health benefit plans during the remainder of the current year. If the certification is not approved, the carrier shall continue to issue coverage as required by subdivision (d) and be subject to administrative penalties as established in Section 10718.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 661, Sec. 10. (SB 1163) Effective January 1, 2011.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018