Health care service plans: Consumer Participation Program.

Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care to establish the Consumer Participation Program, which allows the director to award reasonable advocacy and witness fees to a person or organization that represents consumers and has made a substantial contribution on behalf of consumers to the adoption of a regulation or with regard to an order or decision impacting a significant number of enrollees. By March 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, existing law requires the department to report to specified committees of the Legislature on prescribed information relating to the program, including the amount of reasonable advocacy and witness fees awarded. This bill would indefinitely extend the operation of that program, would delete the annual reporting requirement to the specified legislative committees, and would instead require the department to annually post that information on its public internet website by March 1, 2022, and each March 1 thereafter.