BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1764
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Jim Wood, Chair
AB 1764
(Waldron) - As Amended April 6, 2016
SUBJECT: California Health Benefit Review Program: financial
impacts.
SUMMARY: Requests the California Health Benefit Review Program
(CHRBP), within the University of California (UC), in assessing
legislation that proposes to mandate a benefit or service, as
specified, to include in the financial impacts of a benefit
mandate or repeal, the anticipated costs or savings estimated
upon implementation for the subsequent two state fiscal years,
and if applicable, for the five subsequent state fiscal years.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes CHBRP to assess legislation proposing to mandate a
benefit or service, and legislation proposing to repeal a
mandated benefit or service. Authorizes the appropriate
policy or fiscal committee chairperson, the Speaker of the
Assembly, or the President pro Tempore of the Senate, to
request a written analysis, and requires CHBRP to provide the
analysis within 60 days of the request.
2)Assesses each plan and insurer an annual fee to fund the
actual and necessary expenses of CHBRP, and limits the total
annual assessment to $2 million to be deposited into the
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Health Care Benefits Fund.
3)Requests the UC to submit a report to the Governor and the
Legislature by January 1, 2017 regarding the requirements on
CHBRP. Sunsets the provisions establishing CHBRP by July 1,
2017.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS:
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, limiting
savings and cost estimates to a 12 month period does not
accurately reflect the benefits or impacts of the covered
therapy. For example, initial costs of higher tier drugs may
show substantial savings manifested after a 12 month estimate,
including lower hospitalization rates, prevention of organ
transplants and may result in better quality of life and
health outcomes for the patient at lower costs in the long
run.
2)BACKGROUND. Existing law establishes CHBRP to assess
legislation that proposes to mandate or repeal a mandated
health benefit or service. CHRBP's analysis must include
relevant data on the following: public health impacts, medical
impact, and financial impact (including potential cost or
savings) of a mandated or repealed benefit or service.
CHBRP's analysis must be submitted to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature within 60 days of a
request. SB 125 (Ed Hernandez), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2015,
expanded this request to include impacts on essential health
benefits and on the California Health Benefit Exchange in the
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analysis prepared under the program. SB 125 further requested
that the UC assess legislation that impacts health insurance
benefit design, cost sharing, premiums, and other health
insurance topics. SB 125 extended the operative date of the
program and the fund, including the annual charge on health
care service plans and health insurers, to June 30, 2017 and
would repeal the described provisions as of January 1, 2018.
Since 2004, CHRBP has analyzed 128 bills, 49 of which were
passed by the Legislature and enrolled to the Governor, and
provided two special analyses that supported enacted
legislation. Thirty-three of the bills analyzed were vetoed,
and 11 were signed into law. Further, 15 bills analyzed by
CHBRP in the current two-year legislative session remain
active. In 2016, as of the April Policy Committee deadline,
CHBRP has analyzed 13 bills, and is completing an analysis of
one recently amended bill.
Since CHBRP's inception, the number of bills referred to CHBRP
by the Legislature has varied, with the largest number (15
bills) occurring in 2011. The topics vary widely across the
spectrum of health care insurance benefit and plan design,
plan administration, and associated topics. CHBRP's objective
analyses are used not only by Legislators and legislative
staff but also bill advocates and opponents.
3)POLICY COMMENT. UC is required to submit a report to the
Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2017 on the
statutory requirements of CHBRP. The CHRBP provisions are
also set to expire on July 1, 2017. In light of the report
and upcoming sunset, instead of imposing additional
requirements on the CHBRP analysis, the Committee may wish to
instead send a letter and request CHBRP to include in its
report to the Governor and Legislature that is due on January
1, 2017 (the effective date of this bill if it is signed by
the Governor), the feasibility and impact of including the
requirements of this bill in its fiscal impact analysis.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 1764
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Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Rosielyn Pulmano / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097