Existing law grants the State Department of Health Care Services the sole authority in state government to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities and authorizes the department to issue a license to specified types of facilities if certain criteria are met. Existing law requires an operator of a licensed alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility or certified alcohol or other drug program to include on its internet website and intake form paperwork a disclosure that an individual may check the internet website of the department to confirm whether the facility's license or program's certification has been placed in probationary status, been subject to a temporary suspension order, been revoked, or the operator has been given a notice of operation in violation of law. Existing law requires the disclosure to include a link to the department's internet website that contains the Probationary Status, Temporary Suspension Order, Revoked and Notice of Operation in Violation of Law Program List. This bill would require the department to indicate on its internet website containing the above-described list, in a location and font that is easy to see and read, that notices to recovery residences issued for a specified violation are not included in that list. The bill would also require the department to post on its internet website, in a specified manner, an identification and summary of each violation the department has issued for the above-described facilities and programs. The bill would require the department to implement this requirement to protect the public it serves by providing sufficient information regarding those who violate the state laws it administers without posting information that violates privacy rights and protections provided by state or federal law.
(1) Existing law authorizes specified drowning or injury prevention organizations (DIP organization) to provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school regarding specified topics relating to drowning prevention. Existing law requires a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to provide, upon request by a public school, the informational materials in the 3 most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school. This bill would instead require a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to provide, upon request by a public school, the informational materials in English and would encourage the DIP organization to provide informational materials in the other most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school. The bill would require a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to a public school to provide those materials at no cost to the public school, allow the school to offer copies of the materials to pupils and parents, and provide written evidence to a school administrator that demonstrates that the informational materials provided by the DIP organization align with the drowning, drowning prevention, water safety, rescue, and swim skills lesson information found on the drowning prevention web page of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as provided. The bill also would require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Developmental Services and the State Department of Public Health, to gather and make available on its internet website school-based water safety and drowning prevention education resources and curriculum, as provided. The bill would authorize public schools to provide to their pupils those water safety informational materials identified by the department and provided by a DIP organization, as provided. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to adopt and enforce regulations relating to public swimming pools, as defined. This bill would expressly authorize the State Department of Public Health to review and evaluate existing statutes and regulations under its jurisdiction recommended by the California Unintentional Injury Prevention Strategic Plan Project to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with current public health practices, as provided, and would authorize the department to recommend to the Legislature updates or nonsubstantive technical corrections to support effective implementation and regulatory compliance.
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 and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law sets forth various provisions for Medi-Cal coverage of community health worker services, enhanced care management, and community supports, subject to any necessary federal approvals. Under existing law, these benefits are designed to, respectively, provide a link between health and social services and the community; address the clinical and nonclinical needs on a whole-person-care basis for certain target populations of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, including individuals experiencing homelessness; and provide housing transition navigation services, among other supports. This bill would set forth provisions regarding field medicine, as defined, under the Medi-Cal program for persons experiencing homelessness, as defined. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the field medicine-related provisions coexist with, and not duplicate, other Medi-Cal provisions, including, but not limited to, those regarding community health worker services, enhanced care management, and community supports. The bill would authorize a Medi-Cal managed care plan to elect to offer Medi-Cal covered services through a field medicine provider, as defined. Under the bill, a managed care plan that elects to do so would be required to allow a Medi-Cal member who is experiencing homelessness to receive those services directly from an in-network, contracted field medicine provider, regardless of the member's in-network assignment, as specified. The bill would also require the managed care plan to allow an in-network, contracted field medicine provider enrolled in Medi-Cal to directly refer a member who is experiencing homelessness for covered services within the appropriate network, as specified. The bill would require a managed care plan to have appropriate mechanisms, procedures, or protocols to ensure timely communication between the in-network, contracted field medicine provider, the Medi-Cal member's plan or independent practice association, and the member's primary care provider for purposes of care coordination and to prevent the duplication of services. The bill would require a managed care plan to provide a method for a Medi-Cal member to inform the managed care plan online, in person, or via telephone that the member is experiencing homelessness. The bill would require the department to inform a managed care plan if a member has indicated that they are experiencing homelessness based on information furnished on the Medi-Cal application. In the case of a Medi-Cal beneficiary who is experiencing homelessness and who receives services within the fee-for-service delivery system, the bill would require the department to reimburse a field medicine provider enrolled in Medi-Cal for providing Medi-Cal covered services. The bill would condition implementation of the above-described provisions on receipt of any necessary federal approvals and the availability of federal financial participation. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, that the standard application form for insurance affordability programs include an optional question for an applicant to identify whether they are experiencing homelessness. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions under existing law regarding the application process. The bill would also remove obsolete references within related provisions. To the extent that the bill would create new duties for counties with regard to data sharing under Medi-Cal, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1) Existing law prohibits specified medical professionals, including nurses, not employed in that capacity by the State Department of Health Care Services, and any other person, from being employed or permitted to supervise the health and physical development of pupils unless that person holds a services credential with a specialization in health or a valid credential, as provided. Notwithstanding that provision, existing law authorizes any pupil who is required to take, during the regular schoolday, medication prescribed for them by a physician and surgeon or ordered for them by a physician assistant, to be assisted by the school nurse or other designated school personnel, and to carry and self-administer, prescription auto-injectable epinephrine if the school district receives the appropriate written statements, as specified. This bill would revise and recast that latter provision by authorizing assistance with, and the carrying and self-administration of, emergency epinephrine delivery systems, instead of auto-injectors, and making its provisions also apply to county offices of education and charter schools. Notwithstanding any other law, existing law requires school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide emergency epinephrine auto-injectors, to be stored in an accessible location upon need for emergency use, to school nurses or trained volunteer personnel, and authorizes school nurses and trained personnel to use epinephrine auto-injectors to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an anaphylactic reaction, as provided. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by requiring local educational agencies, defined as a school district, county office of education, or charter school, to provide emergency epinephrine delivery systems, instead of auto-injectors, as provided, to be stored at each schoolsite, including at the location of any state or federally subsidized childcare program operated by or under contract with the local educational agency, and by expanding the definition of "volunteer" or "trained personnel" to include certain employees of childcare programs, as provided. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes a pharmacy to furnish epinephrine auto-injectors to a school district, county office of education, or charter school for purposes of the requirements described in paragraph (1) above if specified requirements are met, including that the auto-injectors are furnished exclusively for use at a school district site, county office of education, or charter school. This bill would authorize a pharmacy to furnish epinephrine delivery systems, instead of auto-injectors, to those local educational agencies, subject to the same requirements, except that the delivery systems may also be furnished exclusively for use at any state or federally subsidized childcare program operated by or under contract with one of those local educational agencies. (3) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
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, under fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal Medicaid law requires the state to publish an online directory of physicians and, at state option, other providers, as specified. Existing state law sets forth Medi-Cal managed care provisions relating to a Medi-Cal applicant or beneficiary being informed of the health care options available regarding methods of receiving Medi-Cal benefits, including through certain provider directories. The department has administratively created an online provider directory through an internet website known as Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options. This bill would require, as part of the health care options information posted by the department, in the provider directory that lists accepted Medi-Cal managed care plans, through the Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options internet website and any other applicable mechanisms, that the directory include skilled nursing facilities as one of the available searchable provider types. The bill would require that this provision be implemented in conjunction with implementation of the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to annually update that provider directory to ensure that information is accurate and readily accessible to the public.
Existing law establishes various programs to address the needs of migrant agricultural families. Existing law also provides funding to enhance and maintain rural health services. This bill would establish the Virtual Health Hub for Rural Communities Pilot Program, and would require the State Department of Public Health to administer the program to expand access to health services for farmworkers in rural communities. The bill would require the department to distribute grants to partnerships of 2 separate community-based organizations, except as specified, to establish and deploy virtual health hubs, as defined, and to administer the program and to provide technical assistance to the grant recipients for any licensing or reporting requirements necessary to fulfill the program obligations. The bill would outline criteria for the grants and require the department to give priority to community-based organizations that meet specified criteria, including, but not limited to, a history of serving medically underserved communities. The bill would require the grant recipients, among other things, to deploy virtual health hubs in 2 rural communities based on farmworker population and access to health care and to submit specified information on the program to the department. Under the bill, the virtual health hubs would include, at a minimum, computers, Wi-Fi, cubicles for virtual visits, and exam rooms for telemedicine. The bill would create the Virtual Health Hub Fund and would condition implementation of these provisions on no General Fund moneys being used, there being a minimum of $2,000,000 in the fund, and the department posting a notice on its internet website. The bill would also require the department, 2 years after the notice is posted on the internet website, to submit a report to the Legislature and post to its internet website specified information provided by the grant recipients, including age ranges and type of health services accessed by the people served. The bill would repeal these provisions when specified conditions are met. The bill would make findings and declarations in support of its provisions.
Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information to oversee and administer various health programs related to health care infrastructure, such as health policy and planning, health professions development, and facilities design review and construction, among others. Existing law requires the California Health and Human Services Agency to establish the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework to require the exchange of health information among health care entities and government agencies in the state, among other things. Existing law requires the agency to convene a stakeholder advisory group to advise on the development, implementation, and administration of the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework. This bill would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information, on or before January 1, 2026, to take over the establishment, implementation, and all of the functions related to the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework, including the data sharing agreement and policies and procedures, from the agency. The bill would expand the entities that are specifically required to execute a data sharing agreement with the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework. The bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2026, to establish a process to designate qualified health information organizations as data sharing intermediaries that have demonstrated their ability to meet requirements of the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2027, and in collaboration with the stakeholder advisory group, to develop and submit a report to the Legislature on the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework, including compliance with data sharing agreements. The bill would expand the membership of the stakeholder advisory group, as specified.
Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant's mental competency is evaluated. Existing law, in the case of a misdemeanor charge in which the defendant is found incompetent, requires the court to hold a hearing to determine if the defendant is eligible for diversion. Existing law requires, if the defendant is not eligible for diversion, the court to hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant will be referred to outpatient treatment, conservatorship, or the CARE program, or if the defendant's treatment plan will be modified. Existing law requires the court to dismiss the case if a defendant does not qualify for the above-described services. Existing law prohibits, except as specified, a person confined in a county jail from being administered any psychiatric medication without prior informed consent. Existing law authorizes a county department of mental health, or other designated county department, to involuntarily administer psychiatric medication to an inmate on a nonemergency basis only after the inmate is provided, among other things, a hearing before a superior court judge, a court-appointed commissioner or referee, or a court-appointed hearing officer. Existing law also provides for the involuntary administration of psychiatric medication to an inmate in an emergency situation. Existing law limits the duration during which an inmate can be involuntarily administered psychiatric medication on an emergency basis and requires that, except as specified, the inmate be provided the same due process protections they would be entitled to when psychiatric medication is involuntarily administered on a nonemergency basis. Existing law specifies that an emergency exists for these purposes when there is a sudden and marked change in an inmate's mental condition so that action is immediately necessary for the preservation of life or the prevention of serious bodily harm to the inmate or others and it is impractical, due to the seriousness of the emergency, to first obtain informed consent. This bill would, if an individual has been found incompetent to stand trial after having been charged with a misdemeanor, additionally authorize the administration of antipsychotic medication to the individual without their prior informed consent on an emergency basis when treatment is necessary to address the emergency condition and the medication is administered in the least restrictive manner, as specified. The bill would specify that a determination made pursuant to these provisions is valid for up to 72 hours if the medication is necessary to address the emergency condition, except as provided. The bill would require the court, prior to issuing an involuntary medication order after hearing, to find by clear and convincing evidence that, among other things, a psychiatrist or psychologist has determined that the individual has a serious mental health disorder that can be treated with antipsychotic medication, and there is no less intrusive alternative to the involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication, and involuntary administration of the medication is in the individual's best interest. The bill would require the court to review that order at least every 60 days and would require the psychiatrist to file an affidavit at that review, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would also enumerate certain rights for individuals, prior to the administration of involuntary medication pursuant to these provisions. The bill would make these provisions inoperative and would repeal them on January 1, 2030, subject to a later enacted statute. Existing law provides that if a person in charge of a county jail, city jail, or juvenile detention facility, or a judge, as specified, believes that a person in custody may have a mental health disorder, that person or judge may cause the prisoner to be taken to a facility for 72 hours of treatment and evaluation. The bill would prohibit certain factors, including the person's temporary access to food, clothing, and shelter, while transferred to a 72-hour facility for treatment and evaluation, from being a basis to conclude that the person is able to provide for their basic personal needs. 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, the Nurse Anesthetists Act, provides for the certification and regulation of nurse anesthetists by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law requires the utilization of a nurse anesthetist to provide anesthesia services in an acute care facility to be approved by the acute care facility administration and the appropriate committee, as defined, and at the discretion of the physician, dentist, or podiatrist. Existing law makes a nurse anesthetist who is not an employee of an acute care facility subject to the bylaws of the facility. This bill would expressly provide that a nurse anesthetist is authorized to perform anesthesia services. The bill would define "anesthesia services" for purposes of the act to mean, among other things, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care and pain management provided by a nurse anesthetist for patients receiving anesthesia pursuant to an order by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist for anesthesia services. Under the bill, an order by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist for anesthesia services for a specific patient would be deemed 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 during the course of care. The bill would provide that the selection and administration of medication by a nurse anesthetist for preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care and for pain management purposes pursuant to an order by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist shall not constitute a prescription as that term is defined in a specified provision of federal law. The bill would state that the provisions of the Nurse Anesthetists Act are declaratory of existing law and of an advisory opinion, including specified case law.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, as defined. Existing law requires a health facility to allow a patient's domestic partner, the children of the patient's domestic partner, and the domestic partner of the patient's parent or child to visit unless no visitors are allowed, the facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or other visitor to the health facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of a facility, or the patient has indicated to the health facility staff that the patient does not want this person to visit. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. This bill would require a general acute care hospital to allow a patient with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, a patient with cognitive impairment, including dementia, and a patient with another disability, as specified, to have a family or friend caregiver with them as needed, including outside standard visiting hours, unless specified conditions are met, including, but not limited to, that the 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 staff, or other visitor to the hospital, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the hospital. The bill would not prohibit a hospital from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitation. The bill would authorize the hospital to impose legitimate health and safety requirements on visitors, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions do not prohibit restrictions to patient visitation policies implemented during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, a health emergency declared by the State Public Health Officer, or a local health emergency declared by a local health officer, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions do not create any new civil or criminal liability, including, but not limited to, liability for any illness, infection, or injury experienced by a patient or visitor on the part of a hospital that complies with its requirements. By expanding the scope of a crime, this 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.
