(a) When the rights of a consumer or a child receiving services under the California Early Intervention Program to recovery from an insurer have been assigned to the department or a regional center, an insurer shall not impose any requirement on the department or the regional center that is different from any requirement applicable to an agent or assignee of the covered consumer or child.
(b) The department may garnish the wages, salary, or other employment income of, and withhold amounts from state tax refunds from, any person to whom both of the following apply:
(1) The person is required by a court or administrative order to provide coverage of the costs of services provided to a child under the California Early Intervention Program or a consumer under this division.
(2) The person has received payment from a third party for the costs of the services for the child or consumer, but he or she has not used the payments to reimburse, as appropriate, either the other parent or the person having custody of the child or consumer, or the provider of the services, to the extent necessary to reimburse the department for expenditures for those costs under this division. All claims for current or past due child support shall take priority over claims made by the department or the regional center.
(c) For purposes of this section, “insurer” includes every health insurer, self-insured plan, group health plan, as defined in Section 607(1) of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.), service benefit plan, managed care organization, including health care service plans as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 1345 of the Health and Safety Code, licensed pursuant to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code), pharmacy benefit manager, or other party that is, by statute, contract, or agreement, legally responsible for payment of a claim for a health care item or service.
(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 9, Sec. 14. (SB 74) Effective March 24, 2011.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018