New California Laws 2026
the use or disclosure of protected health information in the hospital’s patient directory by using a separate document or having hospital personnel verbally in- form the patient, as specified. An act to add Section 1275.9 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities. AB 951, Ta. Health care coverage: behavioral diag- noses. Prohibits a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or re- newed on or after January 1, 2026, from requiring an enrollee or insured previously diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) or autism to receive a rediagnosis to maintain coverage for be- havioral health treatment (BHT) for their condition. An act to amend Section 1374.73 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 10144.51 of the Insurance Code, relating to health care coverage. AB 960, Garcia. Patient visitation. Requires a gen- eral acute care hospital (GACH) to allow a patient with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabil- ities; cognitive impairment, including dementia; or another disability, to have a family or friend caregiv- er with them as needed unless hospital reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of the visitor, a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or oth- er visitor to the health facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the facility. Clarifies that if circumstances require a hospital to restrict visitor access due to health or safety concerns, the hospi- tals’ alternative visitation protocols allow visitation to the greatest extent possible to allow the patient to fully and equally benefit from any goods, services, or facilities offered by the hospital. An act to add Section 1261.1 to the Health and Safe- ty Code, relating to health facilities. AB 1041, Bennett. Health care coverage: health care provider credentials. Requires a full service health care service plan (health plan), a health insur- er or its delegate to subscribe to and use the most recent version of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) credentialing form, and to com- ply with the CAQH credentialing processes on or af- ter January 1, 2028. Requires a health plan, health insurer or its delegate to only request additional information from a provider to clarify and confirm information that is provided on the CAQH creden- tialing form, including verification of information not specifically disclosed on the provider’s applica- tion. Requires, effective one year from the operative date of this bill, a health plan, health insurer, or its delegate that credentials health care providers for its networks to make a determination regarding the credentials of a health care provider within 90 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application, including all required third-party verifi- cations. Requires the 90-day timeline to apply only to the credentialing process and not the completion of contracting. Exempts Medi-Cal managed care con- tracts with the Department of Health Care Services (DMHC) from the provisions of this bill. An act to add Sections 1374.198 and 1380.2 to the Health and Safety Code, and to add Sections 10110.9 and 10144.565 to the Insurance Code, relating to
approval by the Emergency Medical Services Com- mission (Commission), to adopt minimum standards for emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) training. Requires a public safety dispatcher or telecommuni- cator, as defined, to complete that training. An act to add Section 1797.161 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services. AB 688, Mark González. Telehealth for All Act of 2025. Requires the Department of Health Care Ser- vices (DHCS), commencing in 2028 and every two years thereafter, to use Medi-Cal data and other data sources available to DHCS to produce analyses in a publicly available Medi-Cal telehealth utilization re- port, as specified. States it is the intent of the Legis- lature to advance the use of telehealth and increase access to health care by establishing state policy that optimizes the use of telehealth to improve health, as specified. An act to add Section 14132.726 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal. AB 836, Stefani. Midwifery Workforce Training Act. Requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), upon appropriation from the Legislature, to administer funding for a statewide study on midwifery education. Requires the study to be conducted by an outside consultant familiar with the health care and midwifery landscapes and work- force in California that would, among other things, identify viable education programs that can serve both rural and urban geographic areas. An act to add Section 128300 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to maternal care. AB 849, Soria. Health providers: medical chaper- ones. Requires, as of January 1, 2027, a provider, as defined, that offers a sensitive examination, to pro- vide notice to patients that a medical chaperone will be made available, upon request, to observe the ex- amination. Specifies that “provider” does not include any facility owned or operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. An act to add Sections 1234.1, 1264.1, and 124441 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health pro- viders. AB 876, Flora. Nurse anesthetists: scope of prac- tice. Defines “anesthesia services” for purposes of the provision of anesthesia by a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), specifies that an order by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist for anesthesia ser- vices for a specific patient shall be the authorization for the nurse anesthetist to select and implement the modality of anesthesia for the patient and to abort or modify the modality of anesthesia for the patient during the course of care, and makes other technical clarifications. An act to amend Sections 2826 and 2833.6 of, and to add Sections 2826.5, 2826.6, and 2826.7 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts. AB 894, Carrillo. General acute care hospitals: patient directories. Requires a general acute care hospital (GACH) to inform a patient, at the time of admitting, or at the earliest time possible in cases of patient incapacity or an emergency treatment cir- cumstance, that the patient may restrict or prohibit
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