Assembly Standing Committee on Health

Good afternoon and welcome to the Assembly Health Committee hearing for Tuesday, June 17th. Before we begin, I want to make sure everyone understands our Committee procedures to ensure we maintain order and run a fair and efficient hearing with the goal of hearing as much from the public within the limits of our time.

We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so that we can have effective deliberation on the critical issues facing California.

Rules of conduct for Members of the public include no engaging in conduct that disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing. Engaging in personal attacks of Members of this Committee, authors, staff or other witnesses talking to, talking or loud noises from the audience.

Please be aware that violation of these rules may subject you to removal or the or other enforcement processes. If you are providing witness testimony at this hearing, all witnesses will be testifying in person. Main support and opposition will be allowed two minutes, two main witnesses for a maximum of two minutes each.

As a reminder, primary witnesses in support must be those accompanying the author or or who otherwise have registered a support position within the Committee, and the primary witness in opposition must have their opposition registered with the Committee per instructions on our website.

All other support and opposition can be stated at the standing mic when called upon to simply state name, affiliation, and position. All testimony comments are limited to the Bill at hand. Some housekeeping items I would like to recognize a change in membership to the Committee. Please welcome Assembly Member Caloza.

And now we will see if we have quorum. We do have quorum. So, Secretary, please call the roll.

Bonta. Here. Chen, Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Caloza, Carrillo, Flora, Gonzalez, Krell, Patel, Patterson, Rodriguez, Sanchez, Schiavo, Sharp-Collins, Stefani.

We have a quorum. We'll move on now. The following bills are proposed for consent for today's hearing. Any Member of the Committee may remove a Bill from consent. We have Item 1, SB246 by Grove. Do pass to Appropriations. Item 2, SB278 Cabaldon. Do pass to Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.

Item 3, SB317 Hurtado do pass as amended to Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. Item 4, SB386 Limon with a motion of do pass to Appropriations. Can I have a motion for the consent Calendar. Moved by Aguiar-Curry. Seconded by Addis. With that. Secretary, please call the roll.

Bonta. Aye. Bonta, aye. Chen. Aye. Chen, aye. Addis. Aye. Addis, aye. Aguiar-Curry. Aye. Aguiar-Curry, aye. Caloza. Aye. Caloza, aye. Carrillo. Flora. Gonzalez. Aye. Gonzalez, aye. Krell. Aye. Krell, aye. Patel. Aye. Patel, aye. Patterson. Rodriguez. Aye. Rodriguez, aye. Sanchez. Aye. Sanchez, aye. Schiavo. Sharp-Collins. Aye. Sharp-Collins, aye. Stefani.

The consent calendar is out. We'll move on now to our one and only item up for presentation at today's hearing. SB439 by Dr. Weber Pierson, moved by Chen, seconded by Sharp-Collins. Please proceed, Senator, whenever you're ready.

Thank you. I forgot how it's done on the Assembly side, so I will be very quick. Good afternoon Chair and Assembly. I am here to present SB 439 which would extend the sunset of California Health Benefit Review Program, also known as CHBRP, by six years and increase its annual budget by 1 million.

Here with me to testify is Jen Chase from the University of California and Garen Corbett, the Director of CHBRP. Thank you. Respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you. You'll each have two minutes.

Good afternoon, Chair Bonta, Members. My name is Jen Chase and I'm here on behalf of the University of California, proud sponsor of SB 439 and just appreciate your time and ask, respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Good afternoon Chair and Members. My name is Garen Corbett. As Jen noted, I'm the Director of CHBRP. There's a class that we can do on pronouncing "CHBRP". That's always the best exercise. I have been Director of the program since 2011.

On behalf of the entire CHBRP team, most of which are not here today, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to continue this remarkable program and for your consideration of SB 439.

Our work is really designed to help provide credible analysis in a really complicated arena, as you know, which more than 22 million Californians are directly impacted those who are enrolled in state regulated health insurance.

Senator Weber-Pierson and the Committee analysis have described our work clearly and well. SB439 provides a necessary extension to CHBRP to enable us to continue our mission of supporting you all with evidence-based policy making.

CHBRP has completed nearly 250 requests and created dozens of resources that are really specific to California and are available to the public at any time.

Our financial coverage for the time and efforts invested by the remarkable faculty and researchers that really make up CHBRP are drawn from multiple campuses and the compensation that we provide really has not kept up with inflation and in some cases have been cut significantly.

As noted in the analysis, CHBRP has had just one budgetary increase in 20 plus years. And the complexity of our work has evolved over these 20 years due to changes in evolving State and of course, federal policy changes in the insurance markets, a broadened statutory mandate and the evolving complexities in the practice, financing and delivery of health care.

Again, this Bill provides a vital extension to our sunset and ensures that our work may continue. The critical funding increase will help us manage inflationary pressures and restore our ability to produce more analyses for you each year.

With your kind support of this Bill, we will have the essential resources to continue and meet the high standards of our statutory charge. Thank you to Senator Weber-Pierson and her staff, the chairs in both Committees, Members, and staff, the University of California course and the many stakeholders who have supported and informed CHBRP's work.

I humbly ask for your support of SB 439. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Are there other me-toos in support of this measure? Seeing none.

[Inaudible] in support.

Are there any primary witnesses in opposition? Are there any others who would like to offer a me-too in opposition? Seeing none. I will bring it back to the Committee for questions or comments.

Senator Weber, thank you so much for bringing forward this Bill.

The California Health Benefits Review Program is responsible for providing much-needed objective fact-based review of benefit mandate bills and their work better informs our debate and discussion and understanding the fiscal implications of and costs related to the bills that come before this Health Committee especially.

I thank you and with that I will be supporting this Bill and ask you to close.

Would really like to thank the Chair and the Committee staff and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. With that Secretary, please call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

That measures out. Thank you so much Senator. Members, if you voted on the consent in this last measure, then your work is done here today. Otherwise we will open up for add ons.

On consent Carrillo. Carrillo, aye. Flora. Flora, aye. Patterson. Schiavo.

That measure is still out.

Hours.

No I understand it anymore.

It.

We'll open up for add ons the consent.

On consent. Patterson. Patterson, aye Schiavo. Schiavo, aye.

And for SB439.

Patterson. Patterson, aye. Schiavo. Schiavo, aye.

Both of those measures are out. With that we'll conclude our hearing for Health Committee.

SA.