1365.5
. (a) No health care service plan or specialized health care
service plan shall refuse to enter into any contract or shall cancel
or decline to renew or reinstate any contract because of the race,
color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, marital status,
sexual orientation, or age of any contracting party, prospective
contracting party, or person reasonably expected to benefit from that
contract as a subscriber, enrollee, member, or otherwise.
(b) The terms of any contract shall not be modified, and the
benefits or coverage of any contract shall not be subject to any
limitations, exceptions, exclusions, reductions, copayments,
coinsurance, deductibles, reservations, or premium, price, or charge
differentials, or other modifications because of the race, color,
national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, marital status, sexual
orientation, or age of any contracting party, potential contracting
party, or person reasonably expected to benefit from that contract as
a subscriber, enrollee, member, or otherwise; except that premium,
price, or charge differentials because of the age of any individual
when based on objective, valid, and up-to-date statistical and
actuarial data are not prohibited.
(c) It shall be deemed a violation of subdivision (a) for any
health care service plan to utilize marital status, living
arrangements, occupation, sex, beneficiary designation, ZIP Codes or
other territorial classification, or any combination thereof for the
purpose of establishing sexual orientation. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to alter in any manner the existing law
prohibiting health care service plans from conducting tests for the
presence of human immunodeficiency virus or evidence thereof.
(d) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of
the director to adopt or enforce regulations prohibiting
discrimination because of sex, marital status, or sexual orientation.
(e) "Sex" as used in this section shall have the same meaning as
"gender," as defined in Section 422.56 of the Penal Code.
(f) The changes made to this section by the act adding this
subdivision shall only apply to contracts issued, amended, or renewed
on or after January 1, 2011.