Health facilities: mandated hospital services and activities.

Existing law, until July 1, 2020, requests that the University of California to establish the California Health Benefit Review Program to assess legislation proposing to mandate a benefit or service of a health care service plan or health insurer or proposing to repeal an existing mandated benefit or service of a health care service plan or health insurer. Under existing law, specified members of the Legislature are authorized to request analysis of that legislation by the university. Existing law requests that the university provide that analysis to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature not later than 60 days after receiving a request for the analysis. This bill would establish an independent, nonpartisan body to advise the Governor and Legislature on the financial impact of proposed mandated hospital services and activities. The bill would require the chair of a policy or fiscal committee that will consider a bill proposing mandated hospital services or activities to ensure that the bill is forwarded to the body to estimate its financial impacts, and would require a bill's author to prepare detailed background information regarding the proposal. The bill would require the body to prepare an analysis estimating the costs of the proposed legislation and analyzing specified information, including the results of research demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed mandated service or activity compared to alternatives, to provide that analysis to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees not later than 60 days after receiving the request, and to post that analysis on the internet. The bill would authorize the body to engage professional consultants and to execute contracts and interagency agreements in order to assess legislation and prepare analyses. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.