In connection with the renewal of a grandfathered small employer health care service plan contract, each plan shall make a reasonable disclosure, as part of its solicitation and sales materials, of the following:
(a) The extent to which premium rates for a specified small employer are established or adjusted in part based upon the actual or expected variation in service costs of the employees and dependents of the small employer.
(b) The provisions concerning the plan’s right to change premium rates and the factors other than provision of services experience that affect changes in premium rates.
(c) Provisions relating to the guaranteed issue and renewal of contracts.
(d) Provisions relating to the effect of any waiting or affiliation provision.
(e) Provisions relating to the small employer’s right to apply for any nongrandfathered small employer health care service plan contract written, issued, or administered by the plan at the time of application for a new health care service plan contract, or at the time of renewal of a health care service plan contract, consistent with the requirements of PPACA.
(f) The availability, upon request, of a listing of all the plan’s nongrandfathered small employer health care service plan contracts and benefit plan designs offered, both inside and outside the California Health Benefit Exchange, including the rates for each contract.
(g) At the time it renews a grandfathered small employer health care service plan contract, each plan shall provide the small employer with a statement of all of its nongrandfathered small employer health care service plan contracts, including the rates for each plan contract, in the service area in which the employer’s employees and eligible dependents who are to be covered by the plan contract work or reside. For purposes of this subdivision, plans that are affiliated plans or that are eligible to file a consolidated income tax return shall be treated as one health plan.
(h) Each plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Prepare a brochure that summarizes all of its small employer health care service plan contracts and to make this summary available to any small employer and to solicitors upon request. The summary shall include for each contract information on benefits provided, a generic description of the manner in which services are provided, such as how access to providers is limited, benefit limitations, required copayments and deductibles, standard employee risk rates, and a telephone number that can be called for more detailed benefit information. Plans are required to keep the information contained in the brochure accurate and up to date and, upon updating the brochure, send copies to solicitors and solicitor firms with which the plan contracts to solicit enrollments or subscriptions.
(2) For each contract, prepare a more detailed evidence of coverage and make it available to small employers, solicitors, and solicitor firms upon request. The evidence of coverage shall contain all information that a prudent buyer would need to be aware of in making contract selections.
(3) Provide to small employers and solicitors, upon request, for any given small employer the sum of the standard employee risk rates and the sum of the risk adjusted employee risk rates. When requesting this information, small employers, solicitors, and solicitor firms shall provide the plan with the information the plan needs to determine the small employer’s risk adjusted employee risk rate.
(4) Provide copies of the current summary brochure to all solicitors and solicitor firms contracting with the plan to solicit enrollments or subscriptions from small employers.
For purposes of this subdivision, plans that are affiliated plans or that are eligible to file a consolidated income tax return shall be treated as one health plan.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 195, Sec. 9. (SB 1034) Effective January 1, 2015.)