Medical Practice Act: health care providers: qualified autism service paraprofessionals.

The definition of 'health care provider' in Section 2290.5(a)(3)(C) was changed. Previously, all three autism service categories (provider, professional, paraprofessional) were described as 'certified by a national entity pursuant to Section 1374.73 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 10144.51 of the Insurance Code.' Now each category is defined by its own Business and Professions Code section: provider per Section 4999.200, professional per Section 4999.201, and paraprofessional per Section 4999.202. Only the 'provider' retains the explicit 'certified by a national entity' language.

The bill was reformatted from an amended-in-senate version with line numbers to a clean enrolled version, including addition of passage dates (Assembly August 25, Senate August 20), governor receipt/approval lines, and removal of the 'as amended' designation in the digest.

The definition of 'health care provider' for telehealth purposes now references Section 4999.200 (qualified autism service provider), Section 4999.201 (qualified autism service professional), and Section 4999.202 (qualified autism service paraprofessional) of the Business and Professions Code, replacing the prior cross-references to Health and Safety Code Section 1374.73 and Insurance Code Section 10144.51.

Each of the three autism service categories now has its own specific 'as defined in' citation rather than all being grouped under a single certification requirement, making the statutory basis for each role more precise.