RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1602 (PEREZ), HEALTH CARE COVERAGE

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires each state to, by January 1, 2014, establish an American Health Benefits Exchange that makes available qualified health plans to qualified individuals and qualified employers; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1602 would conform state law to several consumer protections in the Federal health reform that would take affect within six months; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1602 would prohibit carriers from establishing lifetime limits or unreasonable annual limits on benefits; require providers to provide minimum coverage for specified preventative services; prohibit carriers from imposing preexisting condition exclusions for enrollees under 19 years of age; and prohibit the limiting age for dependent health care coverage to be less than 26 years of age; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1602, in conjunction with several other bills in the current Legislative session implementing related market reforms, are a necessary first step toward enacting these important insurance changes; and

WHEREAS, estimates are that approximately 43,000 San Mateo County residents with incomes below 400 percent of poverty who would be purchasing insurance through the newly established California Health Benefits Exchange would directly benefit from these consumer protections.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors by the adoption of this resolution hereby supports Assembly Bill 1602 (Perez) regarding health care coverage.

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