Section 1357.506.

(a) A small employer health care service plan contract shall not impose a preexisting condition provision upon any individual.

(b) A plan contract may apply a waiting period of up to 60 days as a condition of employment if applied equally to all eligible employees and dependents and if consistent with PPACA. A plan contract through a health maintenance organization, as defined in Section 2791 of the federal Public Health Service Act, may impose an affiliation period not to exceed 60 days. A waiting or affiliation period shall not be based on a preexisting condition of an employee or dependent, the health status of an employee or dependent, or any other factor listed in subdivision (h) of Section 1357.503. An affiliation period shall run concurrently with a waiting period. During the waiting or affiliation period, the plan is not required to provide health care services and no premium shall be charged to the subscriber or enrollees.

(c) In determining whether a waiting or affiliation period applies to any person, a plan shall credit the time the person was covered under creditable coverage, provided the person becomes eligible for coverage under the succeeding plan contract within 62 days of termination of prior coverage, exclusive of any waiting or affiliation period, and applies for coverage with the succeeding plan contract within the applicable enrollment period. A plan shall also credit any time an eligible employee must wait before enrolling in the plan, including any affiliation or employer-imposed waiting or affiliation period. However, if a person's employment has ended, the availability of health coverage offered through employment or sponsored by an employer has terminated, or an employer's contribution toward health coverage has terminated, a plan shall credit the time the person was covered under creditable coverage if the person becomes eligible for health coverage offered through employment or sponsored by an employer within 180 days, exclusive of any waiting or affiliation period, and applies for coverage under the succeeding plan contract within the applicable enrollment period.

(d) An individual's period of creditable coverage shall be certified pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 2704 of Title XXVII of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300gg-3(e)).

(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 852, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2013.)