Healthcare

This bill designates May 2026 as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month to highlight the importance of mental health support for mothers. It serves as a symbolic proclamation rather than a law that changes regulations or imposes new requirements. The measure directly affects state officials who will recognize the month and may encourage public awareness campaigns during that time.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal law, Public Law 119-21, enacted on July 4, 2025, sets forth various changes to different health care programs, including certain requirements for Medicaid eligibility with regard to work or community engagement reporting, redeterminations, and cost sharing, among other factors, for certain Medicaid populations pursuant to a specified implementation timeline. Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, imposes a certain assessment on an applicable large employer, as defined, that offers full-time employees and their dependents the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage, and for whom one or more full-time employees have been certified as having enrolled in a qualified health plan for which a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction is allowed or paid. This bill would create the Employer Responsibility for Medi-Cal Trust Fund to consist of new taxes and deposits, including employer penalties specified in the Budget Act of 2026. The bill would continuously appropriate moneys in the fund to the department to fund the costs of administering the Medi-Cal program in a manner necessary to prevent loss of or to restore health care coverage, benefits, or access to care following the passage of Public Law 119-21 and subsequent state budget actions. The bill would state that these provisions would become operative only if the Medicaid provisions of Public Law 119-21 are not repealed prior to January 1, 2027. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Trial Jury Selection and Management Act, governs the selection of jurors and formation of trial juries for civil and criminal cases in all trial courts of the state. Existing law requires the judge in a criminal action or proceeding alleging a violent felony, prior to discharging the jury, to provide specified information to trial jurors regarding mental health awareness, including information about stress relief and symptoms that may be experienced following exposure to trauma. This bill would authorize the County of Santa Cruz and two other counties, selected by the Judicial Council, to conduct a pilot program for the provision of no-cost mental health services to jurors and alternate jurors following the receipt of a verdict in a criminal action or proceeding alleging a violent felony, as defined. The bill would require the Judicial Council to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the behavioral health directors of the participating counties for the purposes of providing the above-described mental health services, and would require the memorandum of understanding to include, among other things, the number of no-cost mental health sessions available to jurors. The bill would require the participating counties to terminate the pilot program no later than January 1, 2034, and would require the counties to report specified information regarding the pilot program to the Judicial Council. The bill would require the Judicial Council to provide a report to the Legislature no later than July 1, 2035, regarding the pilot program, and would require the report to include the number of jurors who were offered mental health resources pursuant to this program and recommendations for improving outreach and access to mental health services for jurors. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2036.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a full service health care service plan, excluding a Medi-Cal managed care plan, or its delegate, to subscribe to and use the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare credentialing form on and after January 1, 2028. On and after January 1, 2027, existing law requires a health care service plan, excluding a Medi-Cal managed care plan, or its delegate, that credentials health care providers for its networks to make a determination regarding the credentials of a provider within 90 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application. This bill would extend the application of the above-described requirements to Medi-Cal managed care plans. Because a willful violation of these requirements by a Medi-Cal managed care plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which, among other things, administers various programs that prevent disease and promote health. This bill would create the California Investigational Peptide and Novel Compound Research and Therapeutic Access Program and would require the department to convene a working group with specified members to study and make recommendations regarding the creation of a state-authorized research and investigational therapeutic framework, as specified. The bill would require the working group to study potential uses of investigational therapeutic compounds and novel peptide compounds, among other things, and to submit a report to the Legislature detailing its findings and recommendations no later than January 1, 2029. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.

Existing law requires specified occupied structures that are constructed on or after January 1, 2017, or constructed before that date and subject to subsequent modifications, to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) , as specified. Existing law exempts specified structures from these requirements, including structures that are owned or operated by any local government entity and specified health facilities. Existing law specifies that a structure with an existing AED in the common area of the structure meets the above-described requirement to have an AED without the installation of another AED. Existing law requires a person or entity that acquires an AED to, among other things, notify an agent of the local emergency medical services agency of the existence, location, and type of AED acquired, ensure that the AED is maintained and tested according to the manufacturer's guidelines, and ensure that the AED is tested at least biannually and after each use. Existing law provides that a person or entity that acquires an AED is not liable for civil damages resulting from the act or omission in the rendering of emergency care if certain requirements relating to the operation and maintenance of an AED are met. This bill would additionally require the specified structures described above to have an AED if that structure serves a population of adults 55 years of age or older and has the capacity to serve 50 or more adults 55 years of age or older.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to conduct a program of epidemiological assessments of the incidence of Parkinson's disease and establish a system for the collection of information determining the incidence of Parkinson's disease. Existing law encourages the department to convene a task force comprised of researchers with expertise in Parkinson's disease, advocates for patients with Parkinson's disease, and other individuals with relevant expertise to provide support and advice for the implementation and funding of the program. Existing law requires the director to establish a statewide system for the collection of information determining the incidence of Parkinson's disease. This bill would require the department to establish the California Epilepsy Program for the purposes of epidemiological assessments of the incidence and prevalence of epilepsy and seizures. The bill would require the department to convene an advisory panel comprised of specified individuals to provide support and advice for the implementation of the program. The bill would authorize the department to seek private or public funding and to spend those funds for the purposes of the program, and would authorize the department to contract with various entities for the purposes of collecting and collating data. The bill would require the department to analyze available data, to prepare and publish reports on its internet website as necessary, and to publish on its internet website a listing of agencies that offer services to individuals affected by epilepsy, as specified.

This bill designates April 2026 as Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month in California. It directly affects state officials and the public by formally recognizing the importance of raising awareness for this specific health condition. The primary mechanism is a legislative proclamation that appears in the state statutes to mark the month. This action serves as an official acknowledgment of the disease without changing laws or funding.

This bill designates the month of March 2026 as Kidney Month in California to raise awareness about chronic kidney disease. It highlights the importance of early detection and screening, noting that many people with the condition are unaware they have it. The resolution aims to educate the public on prevention and the risks associated with kidney failure, particularly among marginalized communities.

This measure would designate the week of March 15, 2026, to March 21, 2026, inclusive, as Family Physician Week, recognize the invaluable contributions of family physicians to California's health care system, and encourage continued investment in primary care to strengthen the family medicine workforce.