(a) Every health care service plan that offers, issues, or renews individual plan contracts shall offer to any individual, who was covered under an individual plan contract that was rescinded, a new individual plan contract, without medical underwriting, that provides equal benefits. A health care service plan may also permit an individual, who was covered under an individual plan contract that was rescinded, to remain covered under that individual plan contract, with a revised premium rate that reflects the number of persons remaining on the plan contract.

(b) “Without medical underwriting” means that the health care service plan shall not decline to offer coverage to, or deny enrollment of, the individual or impose any preexisting condition exclusion on the individual who is issued a new individual plan contract or remains covered under an individual plan contract pursuant to this section.

(c) If a new individual plan contract is issued, the plan may revise the premium rate to reflect only the number of persons covered on the new individual plan contract.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if an individual was subject to a preexisting condition provision or a waiting or an affiliation period under the individual plan contract that was rescinded, the health care service plan may apply the same preexisting condition provision or waiting or affiliation period in the new individual plan contract. The time period in the new individual plan contract for the preexisting condition provision or waiting or affiliation period shall not be longer than the one in the individual plan contract that was rescinded and the health care service plan shall credit any time that the individual was covered under the rescinded individual plan contract.

(e) The plan shall notify in writing all enrollees of the right to coverage under an individual plan contract pursuant to this section, at a minimum, when the plan rescinds the individual plan contract. The notice shall adequately inform enrollees of the right to coverage provided under this section.

(f) The plan shall provide 60 days for enrollees to accept the offered new individual plan contract and this contract shall be effective as of the effective date of the original plan contract and there shall be no lapse in coverage.

(g) This section does not apply to any individual whose information in the application for coverage and related communications led to the rescission.

(h) (1) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2014, or the 91st calendar day following the adjournment of the 2013–14 First Extraordinary Session, whichever date is later.

(2) If Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by Section 1501 of PPACA, is repealed or amended to no longer apply to the individual market, as defined in Section 2791 of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300gg-91), this section shall become operative 12 months after the date of that repeal or amendment.

(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 2, Sec. 12) by Stats. 2015, Ch. 303, Sec. 264. (AB 731) Effective January 1, 2016. Inoperative, by its own provisions, on January 1, 2014, subject to condition for resuming operation. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 265 of Stats. 2015, Ch. 303.)