Chapter 7. University Of California Assessment On Legislation Proposing Mandated Benefits Or Services of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 107. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 7.

(a) The Legislature hereby requests the University of California to establish the California Health Benefit Review Program to assess legislation proposing to mandate a benefit or service, as defined in subdivision (d), and legislation proposing to repeal a mandated benefit or service, as defined in subdivision (e), and to prepare a written analysis with relevant data on the following:
  (1) Public health impacts, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
  (A) The impact on the health of the community, including the reduction of communicable disease and the benefits of prevention such as those provided by childhood immunizations and prenatal care.
  (B) The impact on the health of the community, including diseases and conditions where disparities in outcomes associated with the social determinants of health as well as gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity are established in peer-reviewed scientific and medical literature.
  (C) The extent to which the benefit or service reduces premature death and the economic loss associated with disease.
  (2) Medical impacts, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
  (A) The extent to which the benefit or service is generally recognized by the medical community as being effective in the screening, diagnosis, or treatment of a condition or disease, as demonstrated by a review of scientific and peer-reviewed medical literature.
  (B) The extent to which the benefit or service is generally available and utilized by treating physicians.
  (C) The contribution of the benefit or service to the health status of the population, including the results of any research demonstrating the efficacy of the benefit or service compared to alternatives, including not providing the benefit or service.
  (D) The extent to which mandating or repealing the benefits or services would not diminish or eliminate access to currently available health care benefits or services.
  (3) Financial impacts, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
  (A) The extent to which the coverage or repeal of coverage will increase or decrease the benefit or cost of the benefit or service.
  (B) The extent to which the coverage or repeal of coverage will increase the utilization of the benefit or service, or will be a substitute for, or affect the cost of, alternative benefits or services.
  (C) The extent to which the coverage or repeal of coverage will increase or decrease the administrative expenses of health care service plans and health insurers and the premium and expenses of subscribers, enrollees, and policyholders.
  (D) The impact of this coverage or repeal of coverage on the total cost of health care.
  (E) The potential cost or savings to the private sector, including the impact on small employers as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section 1357, the Public Employees' Retirement System, other retirement systems funded by the state or by a local government, individuals purchasing individual health insurance, and publicly funded state health insurance programs, including the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program.
  (F) The extent to which costs resulting from lack of coverage or repeal of coverage are or would be shifted to other payers, including both public and private entities.
  (G) The extent to which mandating or repealing the proposed benefit or service would not diminish or eliminate access to currently available health care benefits or services.
  (H) The extent to which the benefit or service is generally utilized by a significant portion of the population.
  (I) The extent to which health care coverage for the benefit or service is already generally available.
  (J) The level of public demand for health care coverage for the benefit or service, including the level of interest of collective bargaining agents in negotiating privately for inclusion of this coverage in group contracts, and the extent to which the mandated benefit or service is covered by self-funded employer groups.
  (K) In assessing and preparing a written analysis of the financial impact of legislation proposing to mandate a benefit or service and legislation proposing to repeal a mandated benefit or service pursuant to this paragraph, the Legislature requests the University of California to use a certified actuary or other person with relevant knowledge and expertise to determine the financial impact.
  (4) The impact on essential health benefits, as defined in Section 1367.005 of this code and Section 10112.27 of the Insurance Code, and the impact on the California Health Benefit Exchange.
  (b) The Legislature further requests that the California Health Benefit Review Program assess legislation that impacts health insurance benefit design, cost sharing, premiums, and other health insurance topics.
  (c) The Legislature requests that the University of California provide every analysis to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature not later than 60 days, or in a manner and pursuant to a timeline agreed to by the Legislature and the California Health Benefit Review Program, after receiving a request made pursuant to Section 127661. In addition, the Legislature requests that the university post every analysis on the Internet and make every analysis available to the public upon request.
  (d) As used in this section, "legislation proposing to mandate a benefit or service" means a proposed statute that requires a health care service plan or a health insurer, or both, to do any of the following:
  (1) Permit a person insured or covered under the policy or contract to obtain health care treatment or services from a particular type of health care provider.
  (2) Offer or provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis, or treatment of a particular disease or condition.
  (3) Offer or provide coverage of a particular type of health care treatment or service, or of medical equipment, medical supplies, or drugs used in connection with a health care treatment or service.
  (e) As used in this section, "legislation proposing to repeal a mandated benefit or service" means a proposed statute that, if enacted, would become operative on or after January 1, 2008, and would repeal an existing requirement that a health care service plan or a health insurer, or both, do any of the following:
  (1) Permit a person insured or covered under the policy or contract to obtain health care treatment or services from a particular type of health care provider.
  (2) Offer or provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis, or treatment of a particular disease or condition.
  (3) Offer or provide coverage of a particular type of health care treatment or service, or of medical equipment, medical supplies, or drugs used in connection with a health care treatment or service.

A request pursuant to this chapter may be made by an appropriate policy or fiscal committee chairperson, the Speaker of the Assembly, or the President pro Tempore of the Senate, who shall forward the introduced bill to the University of California for assessment.

(a) In order to effectively support the University of California and its work in implementing this chapter, there is hereby established in the State Treasury, the Health Care Benefits Fund. The university's work in providing the bill analyses shall be supported from the fund.
  (b) For the 2010-11 to 2016-17 fiscal years, inclusive, each health care service plan, except a specialized health care service plan, and each health insurer, as defined in Section 106 of the Insurance Code, shall be assessed an annual fee in an amount determined through regulation. The amount of the fee shall be determined by the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance in consultation with the university and shall be limited to the amount necessary to fund the actual and necessary expenses of the university and its work in implementing this chapter. The total annual assessment on health care service plans and health insurers shall not exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000).
  (c) The Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance, in coordination with the university, shall assess the health care service plans and health insurers, respectively, for the costs required to fund the university's activities pursuant to subdivision (b).
  (1) Health care service plans shall be notified of the assessment on or before June 15 of each year with the annual assessment notice issued pursuant to Section 1356. The assessment pursuant to this section is separate and independent of the assessments in Section 1356.
  (2) Health insurers shall be noticed of the assessment in accordance with the notice for the annual assessment or quarterly premium tax revenues.
  (3) The assessed fees required pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be paid on an annual basis no later than August 1 of each year. The Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance shall forward the assessed fees to the Controller for deposit in the Health Care Benefits Fund immediately following their receipt.
  (4) "Health insurance," as used in this subdivision, does not include Medicare supplement, vision-only, dental-only, or CHAMPUS supplement insurance, or hospital indemnity, accident-only, or specified disease insurance that does not pay benefits on a fixed benefit, cash payment only basis.

In order to avoid conflicts of interest, the Legislature requests the University of California to develop and implement conflict-of-interest provisions to prohibit a person from participating in any analysis in which the person knows or has reason to know he or she has a material financial interest, including, but not limited to, a person who has a consulting or other agreement with a person or organization that would be affected by the legislation.

The Legislature requests the University of California to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2017, regarding the implementation of this chapter. This report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.