Healthcare

This bill designates May 2026 as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month to highlight the importance of mental health support for mothers. It is a non-binding resolution that does not change laws or allocate funding but serves to raise public awareness through official proclamation. The measure affects the state by encouraging community focus on this topic during the designated month without imposing new requirements on individuals or organizations.

This measure would, among other things, recognize antimicrobial resistance as a public health crisis requiring urgent and sustained action and urge specified state agencies to explore available funding mechanisms to support research and development initiatives addressing antimicrobial resistance, particularly in underserved and high-risk communities.

This bill designates June 9, 2026, as FSGS Awareness Day to highlight focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a rare kidney disease that causes scarring and can lead to kidney failure. The resolution aims to increase public understanding of the condition, which disproportionately affects African American communities and often requires dialysis or transplants. By establishing an official awareness day, the bill seeks to support patients and families while encouraging efforts to improve early diagnosis and access to specialized care.

This bill designates May 2026 as Behavioral Health Awareness Month in California. It requires state agencies and public entities to acknowledge this month, likely through proclamations or public communications. The measure does not alter funding, laws, or services but serves to highlight the importance of mental and behavioral health awareness.

This bill designates the week of May 25 to May 29 as Firefighter Mental Health Awareness Week. It directly affects the state by officially recognizing this specific time period to highlight the importance of mental health support for firefighters. The measure does not create new laws or funding but serves as a formal proclamation to raise awareness about the topic. Once enacted, it becomes part of the state statutes as a commemorative resolution.

This measure would recognize May 4, 2026, to May 8, 2026, inclusive, and every first full week of May thereafter, as Black Health Equity Advocacy Week and commend the California Black Health Network and other organizations throughout the state for their efforts to improve the health, well-being, and life expectancy of Black Californians.

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, including certain dental services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under the Medi-Cal Dental Provider Handbook, the maximum allowance for a house/extended care facility call under a specified billing code is $20. This bill would require the department to increase the Medi-Cal reimbursement base rate for a house/extended care facility call in order to reflect the reasonable travel costs for purposes of delivering dental services in the patient's private residence or applicable facility instead of the location of the dental provider. The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on an appropriation, receipt of any necessary federal approvals, and the availability of federal financial participation.

Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and provides that one of the functions of the department is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the Department of Managed Health Care, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and the Office of Health Care Affordability, to conduct a comparable worth study to examine and compare compensation and reimbursement for behavioral health providers with compensation and reimbursement for similarly situated medical-surgical providers. The bill would require the study to analyze compensation and reimbursement across specified payment flows, including payments made by health care service plans and health insurers directly to behavioral health providers and medical-surgical providers, and payments made to intermediaries and health systems for behavioral health services and medical-surgical services. The bill would require the department to take certain actions in conducting the study, including developing a methodology for determining which behavioral health provider roles are comparable to which medical-surgical provider roles. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to report certain data to the department with respect to payments made directly to providers and payments made to intermediaries and health systems. The bill would also require specified intermediaries and health systems to report certain data to the department relating to payments received and payments made. The bill would make an entity that fails to comply with the reporting requirements subject to civil penalty, as prescribed. The bill would require the department and the other state entities listed above to protect the confidentiality of any propriety or commercially sensitive information submitted pursuant to the bill, as provided. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature containing the findings of the study. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.