(a) A health care service plan providing coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical benefits under an individual health care service plan contract may not, with respect to a federally eligible defined individual desiring to enroll in individual health insurance coverage, decline to offer coverage to, or deny enrollment of, the individual or impose any preexisting condition exclusion with respect to the coverage.

(b) For purposes of this section, “federally eligible defined individual” means an individual who, as of the date on which the individual seeks coverage under this section, meets all of the following conditions:

(1) Has had 18 or more months of creditable coverage, and whose most recent prior creditable coverage was under a group health plan, a federal governmental plan maintained for federal employees, or a governmental plan or church plan as defined in the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002).

(2) Is not eligible for coverage under a group health plan, Medicare, or Medi-Cal, and does not have other health insurance coverage.

(3) Was not terminated from his or her most recent creditable coverage due to nonpayment of premiums or fraud.

(4) If offered continuation coverage under COBRA or Cal-COBRA, has elected and exhausted that coverage.

(c) Every health care service plan shall comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations regarding the provision of coverage to federally eligible defined individuals, including any relevant application periods.

(d) A health care service plan shall offer the following health benefit plan contracts under this section that are designed for, made generally available to, are actively marketed to, and enroll, individuals: (1) either the two most popular products as defined in Section 300gg-41(c)(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code and Section 148.120(c)(2) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations or (2) the two most representative products as defined in Section 300gg-41(c)(3) of the United States Code and Section 148.120(c)(3) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as determined by the plan in compliance with federal law. A health care service plan that offers only one health benefit plan contract to individuals, excluding health benefit plans offered to Medi-Cal or Medicare beneficiaries, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this article if it offers that health benefit plan contract to federally eligible defined individuals in a manner consistent with this article.

(e) (1)  In the case of a health care service plan that offers health insurance coverage in the individual market through a network plan, the plan may do both of the following:

(A) Limit the individuals who may be enrolled under that coverage to those who live, reside, or work within the service area for the network plan.

(B) Within the service area of the plan, deny coverage to individuals if the plan has demonstrated to the director that the plan will not have the capacity to deliver services adequately to additional individual enrollees because of its obligations to existing group contractholders and enrollees and individual enrollees, and that the plan is applying this paragraph uniformly to individuals without regard to any health status-related factor of the individuals and without regard to whether the individuals are federally eligible defined individuals.

(2) A health care service plan, upon denying health insurance coverage in any service area in accordance with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), may not offer coverage in the individual market within that service area for a period of 180 days after the coverage is denied.

(f) (1) A health care service plan may deny health insurance coverage in the individual market to a federally eligible defined individual if the plan has demonstrated to the director both of the following:

(A) The plan does not have the financial reserves necessary to underwrite additional coverage.

(B) The plan is applying this subdivision uniformly to all individuals in the individual market and without regard to any health status-related factor of the individuals and without regard to whether the individuals are federally eligible defined individuals.

(2) A health care service plan, upon denying individual health insurance coverage in any service area in accordance with paragraph (1), may not offer that coverage in the individual market within that service area for a period of 180 days after the date the coverage is denied or until the issuer has demonstrated to the director that the plan has sufficient financial reserves to underwrite additional coverage, whichever is later.

(g) The requirement pursuant to federal law to furnish a certificate of creditable coverage shall apply to health insurance coverage offered by a health care service plan in the individual market in the same manner as it applies to a health care service plan in connection with a group health benefit plan.

(h) A health care service plan shall compensate a life agent or fire and casualty broker-agent whose activities result in the enrollment of federally eligible defined individuals in the same manner and consistent with the renewal commission amounts as the plan compensates life agents or fire and casualty broker-agents for other enrollees who are not federally eligible defined individuals and who are purchasing the same individual health benefit plan contract.

(i) Every health care service plan shall disclose as part of its COBRA or Cal-COBRA disclosure and enrollment documents, an explanation of the availability of guaranteed access to coverage under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, including the necessity to enroll in and exhaust COBRA or Cal-COBRA benefits in order to become a federally eligible defined individual.

(j) No health care service plan may request documentation as to whether or not a person is a federally eligible defined individual other than is permitted under applicable federal law or regulations.

(k) This section shall not apply to coverage defined as excepted benefits pursuant to Section 300gg(c) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(l) This section shall apply to health care service plan contracts offered, delivered, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2001.

(m) (1) This section shall be inoperative on January 1, 2014.

(2) If Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by Section 1501 of PPACA, is repealed or amended to no longer apply to the individual market, as defined in Section 2791 of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300gg-91), this section shall become operative on the date of that repeal or amendment.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “PPACA” means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), and any rules, regulations, or guidance issued pursuant to that law.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 441, Sec. 4. (AB 1180) Effective October 1, 2013. Inoperative, by its own provisions, on January 1, 2014, subject to condition for resuming operation.)