Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills to aid Obamacare implementation
As the state’s health insurance marketplace began enrolling thousands of newly qualified Californians for health coverage, Gov. Jerry Brown signed 10 healthcare-related bills on Tuesday.
Among them are measures that extend healthcare tax breaks to same-sex couples, require school districts that offer discounted meals to poor students to notify parents about expanded healthcare options and ensure new state insurance contracts are subject to state open-records laws.
“While extreme radicals in Washington shut down our government, here in California we’re taking action to extend decent healthcare to millions of families,” Brown said in a statement.
Also signed by Brown was a measure that requires many of the contracts signed by the state’s new health insurance exchange, Covered California, to be open to immediate public inspection under the California Public Records Act. The mandate excludes health plan contracts and their rates, which are made public in three and four years, respectively.
Another bill requires health plans and health insurers to translate specified coverage documents in the same language they use to market or advertise to an individual or small employer.
Among the other healthcare-related bills Brown signed Tuesday was one authorizing the state Department of Public Health and other entities to share health records on the diagnosis and care for people with HIV and AIDS so there is coordination in enrollment as beneficiaries transition new health coverage.
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Twitter: @anthonyyorklat
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