Briefing on Exploring the Financial Feasibility of a Basic Health Program in California

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers states the option to create a Basic Health Program (BHP) to provide coverage to those legal residents living at 133% to 200% of the federal poverty level who are ineligible for Medicaid. This population represents the first income group that would receive subsidies to purchase insurance through the state's Health Benefit Exchange.

The ACA requires BHP enrollees to receive the same essential benefits and the same or lower premiums and cost sharing that they would receive from an Exchange plan. To finance it, states would receive 95% of the federal subsidies that enrollees would have received through the Exchange. State BHPs would contract with managed care plans to deliver services. SB703 would create a BHP in California, and the bill is now working its way through the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

CHCF announces an informational Sacramento briefing to answer fundamental questions about the financial feasibility of a BHP in California. The briefing, co-sponsored with the Senate Health Committee, will cover preliminary findings from a CHCF-commissioned Mercer actuarial model that estimates the affordability of a California BHP under several scenarios.

Presenters will include:

• Charles Bacchi, Executive Vice President, California Association of Health Plans
• Len Finocchio, Senior Program Officer, California HealthCare Foundation
• Elizabeth Landsberg, Legislative Advocate, Western Center on Law & Poverty
• Branch McNeal, Principal, Mercer
• Patricia Powers, Interim Administrative Officer, California Health Benefit Exchange                                       
• John Ramey, Executive Director, Local Health Plans of California                              

For details: http://www.chcf.org/health-policy-office

Registration is required.