(a) With respect to large group health insurance, an insurer and its officials, employees, agents, and representatives shall not, directly or indirectly, employ marketing practices or benefit designs that will have the effect of discouraging the enrollment of individuals with significant health needs or discriminating based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, present or predicted disability, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, expected length of life, degree of medical dependency, quality of life, or other health conditions.

(b) An insurer that violates this section shall be liable for an administrative penalty of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for the first violation, and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each subsequent violation.

(c) An insurer that violates this section with a frequency that indicates a general business practice or commits a knowing violation of this section shall be liable for an administrative penalty of not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), and not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each violation.

(d) This section does not apply to a grandfathered large group health insurance policy or a specialized health insurance policy that covers only dental or vision benefits.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 636, Sec. 2. (SB 280) Effective January 1, 2022.)