(a) The Exchange shall administer a program of financial assistance to help low-income and middle-income Californians access affordable health care coverage through the Exchange.

(b) The program may provide financial assistance to California residents with household incomes at or below 600 percent of the federal poverty level, and may provide other appropriate subsidies designed to make health care coverage more accessible and affordable for individuals and households.

Terms Used In California Government Code 100800

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.

(c) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Exchange shall adopt, and may amend, an annual program design for each coverage year to implement this section by resolution of the board of the Exchange. The resolution shall be adopted at a duly noticed meeting.

(1) A resolution adopted pursuant to this section shall not take effect until 10 days after notification in writing to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) may be waived by the written consent of the Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to adopt a resolution that is deemed urgent. A resolution adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall take immediate effect.

(3)  The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) shall not apply to the program design or a resolution adopted pursuant to this section.

(d) The program design adopted for a coverage year shall be based on funds appropriated to the program for that coverage year. An appropriation made for the program shall contain provisional language directing the Exchange to provide a certain proportion of the funds to specified income ranges as determined by the Legislature and may provide other parameters guiding the design of the program.

(1) Pursuant to the Budget Act of 2023, the program shall be funded at an amount up to eighty-two million five hundred thousand dollars ($82,500,000) for coverage year 2024.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature, beginning in the 2024-25 fiscal year, to appropriate up to one hundred sixty-five million dollars ($165,000,000) in the annual Budget Act to the program for each coverage year of the program after coverage year 2024.

(e) The Exchange shall provide appropriate opportunities for stakeholders and the public to consult in the design of the program.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 42, Sec. 10. (AB 118) Effective July 10, 2023.)

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