California Legislature Narrowly Passes Companion Bills to Run High-Risk Pool

On Monday, June 28, the California Senate passed two bills that the state needed to run a federally-funded high risk health insurance pool, set up by the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (ACA), and is designed to provide temporary coverage to residents who cannot obtain insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions. This temporary program is meant to cover qualifying Californians until January, 2014, when a separate provision of the ACA will bar insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

The Department of Health and Human Services has allocated $761 million in health care funds to the state of California. The purpose of the first bill (AB 1887) is to create the high-risk pool, while the second bill (SB 227) will authorize the state to contract with private insurers to provide coverage to previously denied individuals.

Some Republican lawmakers argue that the program will not be able to withstand more than three years of enforcement due to a lack of sufficient federal funding. The bills are expected to be given to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who will sign them into law. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the narrowly-passed legislation will enable an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 additional Californians to buy health insurance beginning July 1.

For a copy of CaliforniaHealthline’s article, click here.

For a copy of Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s article, click here.

For a copy of the San Diego Union-Tribune article, click here.

For a list of the latest California legislative actions, please see the National Coalition on Health Care’s California State Health Reform Implementation Timeline.