(a) The board shall establish a purchasing pool for coverage of program subscribers to enable applicants without access to affordable and comprehensive employer-sponsored dependent coverage to provide their eligible children with health, dental, and vision benefits. The board shall negotiate separate contracts with participating health, dental, and vision plans for each of the benefit packages described in Chapters 5 (commencing with Section 12693.60), 6 (commencing with Section 12693.63), and 7 (commencing with Section 12693.65).

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after January 1, 2011, the board may negotiate contracts with entities that are not participating health, dental, or vision plans, including, but not limited to, interagency agreements with the State Department of Health Care Services, to provide or pay for benefits to subscribers under this part, if necessary for any of the following purposes:

(1) To comply with Section 403 of the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-3) by applying paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section 1932 of the federal Social Security Act.

(2) To comply with Section 503 of the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-3) by applying subsection (bb) of Section 1902 of the federal Social Security Act.

(3) To ensure that subscribers have adequate access to benefits under this part.

(c) Any interagency agreement entered into by a state agency with the board pursuant to subdivision (b), and any other contract or contract amendment necessary to implement that agreement, shall be exempt from any provision of law relating to competitive bidding and from the review or approval of any division of the Department of General Services in the same manner as contracts entered into by the board are exempt pursuant to Section 12693.54.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 717, Sec. 28. (SB 853) Effective October 19, 2010.)