(a) An insurer that provides a policy of health insurance shall accept premium payments from the following third-party entities without the need to comply with subdivision (c):

(1) A Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program under Title XXVI of the federal Public Health Service Act.

(2) An Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization.

(3) A local, state, or federal government program, including a grantee directed by a government program to make payments on its behalf.

(4) A member of the individual’s family, defined for purposes of this section to include the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, grandparent, and siblings, unless the true source of funds used to make the premium payment originates with a financially interested entity.

(b) A financially interested entity that is not specified in subdivision (a) and is making third-party premium payments shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(1) It shall provide assistance for the full policy year and notify the insured prior to an open enrollment period, if applicable, if financial assistance will be discontinued. Notification shall include information regarding alternative coverage options, including, but not limited to, Medicare, Medicaid, individual market policies, and employer policies, if applicable. Assistance may be discontinued at the request of an insured who obtains other health insurance coverage, or if the insured dies during the policy year.

(2) It shall agree not to condition financial assistance on eligibility for, or receipt of, any surgery, transplant, procedure, drug, or device.

(3) It shall inform an applicant of financial assistance, and shall inform an insured annually, of all available health coverage options, including, but not limited to, Medicare, Medicaid, individual market plans, and employer plans, if applicable.

(4) It shall agree not to steer, direct, or advise the insured into or away from a specific coverage program option or health coverage.

(5) It shall agree that financial assistance shall not be conditioned on the use of a specific facility, health care provider, or coverage type.

(6) It shall agree that financial assistance shall be based on financial need in accordance with criteria that are uniformly applied and publicly available.

(c) A financially interested entity shall not make a third-party premium payment unless the entity complies with both of the following requirements:

(1) Annually provides a statement to the health insurer that it meets the requirements set forth in subdivision (b), as applicable.

(2) Discloses to the health insurer, prior to making the initial payment, the name of the insured for each policy on whose behalf a third-party premium payment described in this section will be made.

(d) (1) Reimbursement for insureds for whom a nonprofit financially interested entity described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) that was already making premium payments to a health insurer on the insured’s behalf prior to October 1, 2019, is not subject to subdivisions (e) and (f) and the financially interested entity is not required to comply with the disclosure requirements described in subdivision (c) for those insureds.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a financially interested entity shall comply with the disclosure requirements of subdivision (c) for an insured on whose behalf the financially interested entity was making premium payments to a health insurer on the insured’s behalf prior to October 1, 2019, if the insured changes health insurers on or after March 1, 2020.

(3) The amount of reimbursement for services paid to a financially interested provider shall be governed by the terms of the insured’s health insurance policy contract, except for an insured who has changed health insurers pursuant to paragraph (2), in which case, commencing January 1, 2022, the reimbursement amount shall be determined in accordance with subdivisions (e) and (f).

(e) Commencing January 1, 2022, if a financially interested entity makes a third-party premium payment to a health insurer on behalf of an insured, reimbursement to a financially interested provider for covered services shall be determined by the following:

(1) For a contracted financially interested provider that makes a third-party premium payment or has a financial relationship with the entity making the third-party premium payment, the amount of reimbursement for covered services that shall be paid to the financially interested provider on behalf of the insured shall be governed by the higher of the Medicare reimbursement or the rate determined pursuant to the process described in this subdivision, if a rate determination pursuant to that process is sought by either the provider or the health insurer. Financially interested providers shall neither bill the insured nor seek reimbursement from the insured for services provided, except for cost sharing pursuant to the terms and conditions of the insured’s health insurance policy. If an insured’s policy imposes a coinsurance payment for a claim that is subject to this paragraph, the coinsurance payment shall be based on the amount paid by the health insurer pursuant to this paragraph.

(2) For a noncontracting financially interested provider that makes a third-party premium payment or has a financial relationship with the entity making the third-party premium payment, the amount of reimbursement for covered services that shall be paid to the financially interested provider on behalf of the insured shall be governed by the terms and conditions of the insured’s health insurance policy or the rate determined pursuant to the process described in this subdivision, whichever is lower, if a rate determination pursuant to that process is sought by either the provider or the health insurer. Financially interested providers shall not bill the insured nor seek reimbursement from the insured for services provided, except for cost sharing pursuant to the terms and conditions of the insured’s health insurance policy. If the insured’s policy imposes a coinsurance payment for a claim that is subject to this paragraph, the coinsurance payment shall be based on the amount paid by the health insurer pursuant to this paragraph. A claim submitted to a health insurer by a noncontracting financially interested provider may be considered an incomplete claim and contested by the health insurer pursuant to Section 10123.13 or 10123.147 if the financially interested provider has not provided the information as required in subdivision (c).

(f) (1) By October 1, 2021, the department shall establish an independent dispute resolution process for the purpose of determining if the amount required to be reimbursed by subdivision (e) is appropriate.

(2) If either the provider or health insurer submits a claim to the department’s independent dispute resolution process, the other party shall participate in the independent dispute resolution process.

(3) In making its determination, the independent organization shall consider information submitted by either party regarding the actual cost to provide services, patient eligibility for Medicare or Medi-Cal, and the rate that would be paid by Medicare or Medi-Cal for patients eligible for those programs.

(4) The health insurer shall implement the determination obtained through the independent dispute resolution process. The independent organization’s determination of the amount required to be reimbursed shall apply for the duration of the policy year for that insured. If dissatisfied, either party may pursue any right, remedy, or penalty established under any other applicable law.

(5) In establishing the independent dispute resolution process, the department shall permit the bundling of claims submitted to the same insurer or the same delegated entity for the same or similar services. The department shall permit claims on behalf of multiple insureds from the same provider to the same health insurer to be combined into a single independent dispute resolution process.

(6) The department shall establish uniform written procedures for the submission, receipt, processing, and resolution of claim payment disputes pursuant to this section and any other guidelines for implementing this section.

(7) The department shall establish reasonable and necessary fees not to exceed the reasonable costs of administering this subdivision.

(8) The department may contract with one or more independent organizations to conduct the proceedings. The independent organization handling a dispute shall be independent of either party to the dispute.

(9) The department shall use conflict-of-interest standards consistent with the standards pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 10169.2.

(10) The department may contract with the same independent organization or organizations as the Department of Managed Health Care.

(11) The independent organization retained to conduct proceedings shall be deemed to be consultants for purposes of § 43.98 of the Civil Code.

(12) Contracts entered into pursuant to the authority in this subdivision shall be exempt from Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, § 19130 of the Government Code, and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14825) of Part 5.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and shall be exempt from the review or approval of any division of the Department of General Services.

(13) This subdivision does not alter a health insurer’s obligations under Section 10123.13.

(14) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section by issuing guidance, without taking regulatory action, until regulations are adopted.

(g) For the purposes of this section, third-party premium payments only include health insurance premium payments made directly by a provider or other third party, made indirectly through payments to the individual for the purpose of making health insurance premium payments, or provided to one or more intermediaries with the intention that the funds be used to make health insurance premium payments for the individuals.

(h) The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:

(1) “Financially interested” includes any of the following entities:

(A) A provider of health care services that receives a direct or indirect financial benefit from a third-party premium payment.

(B) An entity that receives the majority of its funding from one or more financially interested providers of health care services, parent companies of providers of health care services, subsidiaries of health care service providers, or related entities.

(C) A chronic dialysis clinic that is operated, owned, or controlled by a parent entity or related entity that meets the definition of a large dialysis clinic organization (LDO) under the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Comprehensive ESRD Care Model as of January 1, 2019. A chronic dialysis clinic that does not meet the definition of an LDO or has no more than 10 percent of California’s market share of licensed chronic dialysis clinics shall not be considered financially interested for purposes of this section.

(2) “Health insurance” means an individual or group health insurance policy as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 106. The term does not include coverage of Medicare services pursuant to contracts with the United States government, Medicare supplement coverage, or specialized health insurance coverage as described in subdivision (c) of Section 106.

(3) “Insured” means an individual whose health insurance premiums are paid by a financially interested entity.

(4) “Provider” means a professional person, organization, health facility, or other person or institution that delivers or furnishes health care services.

(i) The following shall occur if a health insurer subsequently discovers that a financially interested entity fails to provide disclosure pursuant to subdivision (c):

(1) The health insurer shall be entitled to recover 120 percent of the difference between payment made to a provider and the payment to which the provider would have been entitled pursuant to subdivision (e), including interest on that difference.

(2) The health insurer shall notify the department of the amount by which the provider was overpaid and shall remit to the department any amount exceeding the difference between the payment made to the provider and the payment to which the provider would have been entitled pursuant to subdivision (e), including interest on that difference that was recovered pursuant to paragraph (1).

(j) Commencing January 1, 2022, each health insurer licensed by the department and subject to this section shall provide to the department information regarding premium payments by financially interested entities and reimbursement for services to providers under subdivision (e). The information shall be provided at least annually at the discretion of the department and shall include, to the best of the health insurer’s knowledge, the number of insureds whose premiums were paid by financially interested entities, disclosures provided to the insurer pursuant to subdivision (c), the identities of any providers whose reimbursement rate was governed by subdivision (e), the identities of any providers who failed to provide disclosure as described in subdivision (c), and, at the discretion of the department, additional information necessary for the implementation of this section.

(k) This section does not limit the authority of the Attorney General to take action to enforce this section.

(l) This section does not affect a contracted payment rate for a provider who is not financially interested.

(m) This section does not alter any of a health insurer’s obligations and requirements under this part, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) The obligation of a health insurer to fairly and affirmatively offer, market, sell, and issue a health benefit plan to any individual, consistent with Chapter 9.9 (commencing with Section 10965), or small employer, consistent with Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 10700).

(2) The obligations of a health insurer with respect to cancellation or nonrenewal as provided in this part, including, but not limited to, Sections 10273.4, 10273.6, and 10273.7.

(3) A health insurer may not deny coverage to an insured whose premiums are paid by a third party.

(n) This section does not supersede or modify any privacy and information security requirements and protections in federal and state law regarding protected health information or personally identifiable information, including, but not limited to, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 300gg).

(o) Notwithstanding clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 10965.3, an insured’s loss of coverage due to a financially interested entity’s failure to pay premiums on a timely basis shall be deemed a triggering event for special enrollment pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 10965.3.

(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 370, Sec. 218. (SB 1371) Effective January 1, 2021.)