(a) On and after January 1, 2005, a health care service plan issuing individual plan contracts that ceases to offer individual coverage in this state shall offer coverage to the subscribers who had been covered by those contracts at the time of withdrawal under the same terms and conditions as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b), subdivisions (c) to (e), inclusive, and subdivision (h) of Section 1373.6.
(b) A health care service plan that ceases to offer individual coverage in a service area shall offer the coverage required by subdivision (a) to subscribers who had been covered by those contracts at the time of withdrawal, if the plan continues to offer group coverage in that service area. This subdivision shall not apply to coverage provided pursuant to a preferred provider organization.
(c) The department may adopt regulations to implement this section.
(d) This section shall not apply when a plan participating in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Access for Infants and Mothers, or any other contract between the plan and a government entity no longer contracts with the government entity to provide health coverage in the state, or a specified area of the state, nor shall this section apply when a plan ceases entirely to market, offer, and issue any and all forms of coverage in any part of this state after the effective date of this section.
(e) (1) On and after January 1, 2014, and except as provided in paragraph (2), the reference to Section 1373.6 in subdivision (a) shall not apply to any health plan contracts.
(2) If Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by Section 1501 of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), is repealed or amended to no longer apply to the individual market, as defined in Section 2791 of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300gg-91), paragraph (1) shall become inoperative on the date of that repeal or amendment.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 441, Sec. 3. (AB 1180) Effective October 1, 2013.)