Every carrier shall file with the commissioner the reasonable participation requirements that will be required in renewing its health benefit plans. Participation requirements of a health benefit plan shall be applied uniformly among all small employer groups, except that a carrier may vary application of minimum employer participation requirements by the size of the small employer group and whether the employer contributes 100 percent of the eligible employee’s premium. Employer contribution requirements of a health benefit plan shall not vary by employer size. A carrier shall not establish a participation requirement that (1) requires a person who meets the definition of a dependent in subdivision (d) of Section 10755 to enroll as a dependent if he or she is otherwise eligible for coverage and wishes to enroll as an eligible employee and (2) allows a carrier to reject an otherwise eligible small employer because of the number of persons that waive coverage due to coverage through another employer. Members of an association eligible for health coverage eligible under subdivision (t) of Section 10755 but not electing any health coverage through the association shall not be counted as eligible employees for purposes of determining whether the guaranteed association meets a carrier’s reasonable participation standards.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 852, Sec. 15. (AB 1083) Effective January 1, 2013.)