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 provides for the licensure and regulation of various types of clinics, including alternative birth centers, by the State Department of Public Health, and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. Existing law defines an alternative birth center as a clinic that is not part of a hospital and that provides comprehensive perinatal services and delivery care to pregnant women who remain less than 24 hours at the facility. Existing law requires a licensed alternative birth center specialty clinic, and a licensed primary care clinic that provides services as an alternative birth center, to meet certain criteria, including, among others, being located in proximity to a facility with the capacity for management of obstetrical and neonatal emergencies, as specified. 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 certain criteria for Medi-Cal reimbursement to alternative birth centers for facility-related delivery costs. Under existing law, as a criterion under both the licensing provisions and the Medi-Cal reimbursement provisions described above, the facility is required to be a provider of comprehensive perinatal services as defined in the Medi-Cal provisions. This bill would remove, under both sets of criteria, the certification condition of being a provider of comprehensive perinatal services as defined in the Medi-Cal provisions. The bill would require the facility to provide perinatal services that are comprehensive in nature, as specified, consistent with certain standards. The bill would remove the above-described proximity requirement and would instead require a written policy for hospital transfer. The bill would require the policy to include certain requirements relating to, among other things, arrangements for the referral of a complication, arrangements for the transfer of care, provision of medical records, information about the estimated transfer time, and a clear explanation of the facility's overall emergency transfer plan, as specified. The bill would also make a technical change to an obsolete reference within a related provision. By creating new requirements for an alternative birth center or a primary care clinic that provides services as an alternative birth center, the violation of which is 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 requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information, formerly known as the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, to establish a program to contract with programs that train certified nurse-midwives and programs that train licensed midwives in accordance with the global standards for midwifery education and the international definition of "midwife" as established by the International Confederation of Midwives in order to increase the number of students receiving quality education and training as a certified nurse-midwife or as a licensed midwife. Existing law requires these provisions to be implemented only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another act. This bill would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information, upon appropriation from the Legislature for this purpose, to administer funding for a statewide study on midwifery education. The bill would require the study to be conducted by an outside consultant familiar with the health care and midwifery landscapes and workforce in California that would, among other things, identify viable education programs that can serve both rural and urban geographic areas. The bill would require the department to submit a report from the study's findings to the Legislature, to post the report on the department's internet website, and to notify all persons in the department's reproductive health and maternity care electronic mailing list, as specified. The bill would define "reproductive health care professionals" as, among others, medical doctors and licensed midwives.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, establishes in the Department of Consumer Affairs the California State Board of Pharmacy to license and regulate the practice of pharmacy. Exiting law requires a pharmacist, when furnishing self-administered hormonal contraceptives, to follow specified standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by both the board and the Medical Board of California in consultation with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the California Pharmacists Association, and other appropriate entities. Existing law requires those standardized procedures or protocols to require that the patient use a self-screening tool that will identify related patient risk factors and that require the pharmacist to refer the patient for appropriate followup care, as specified. Existing law requires the pharmacist to provide the recipient of the drug with a standardized factsheet that includes the indications and contraindications for use of the drug, the appropriate method for using the drug, the need for medical followup, and other appropriate information. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist furnishing an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptive pursuant to the above-described protocols to furnish, at the patient's request, up to a 12-month supply at one time. This bill would limit the application of those requirements to self-administered hormonal contraceptives that are prescription-only, and would authorize a pharmacist to furnish over-the-counter contraceptives without following those standardized procedures or protocols. The bill would additionally authorize a pharmacist to furnish up to a 12-month supply at one time of over-the-counter contraceptives at the patient's request. The bill would make related conforming changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law finds and declares that prenatal care, delivery service, postpartum care, and neonatal and infant care are essential services necessary to assure maternal and infant health, and that these services are not currently distributed so as to meet the minimum maternal and infant health needs of many Californians. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop and maintain a statewide community-based comprehensive perinatal services program, as specified, to deliver services in medically underserved areas or areas with demonstrated need. Existing law provides for the licensure of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, by the department. Existing law generally makes a violation of those licensing provisions a crime. Existing law sets forth provisions for critical access hospitals, as designated by the department and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. This bill would require the department, by July 1, 2026, to establish a 10-year pilot project within up to 5 critical access hospitals to allow participating hospitals, on an application basis, to establish standby perinatal services, as defined. Under the bill, the first 2 hospitals selected, if qualified, would be nonprofit and located in the County of Humboldt and the County of Plumas. The bill would set forth various criteria for the selection of the participating hospitals with regard to standards and resources. The bill would require the department to develop a template to collect and evaluate data on safety, outcomes, utilization, and populations served under the pilot project, as specified. The bill would require the department to prepare and submit an evaluation to the Legislature and to make the evaluation publicly available. Under the bill, an approved standby perinatal service would be subject to all relevant licensing enforcement provisions, as specified. The bill would set forth provisions relating to suspension or revocation for noncompliance and to a hospital's request for program flexibility. The bill would require a hospital requesting approval to establish a standby perinatal service to implement and maintain certain requirements relating to, among other things, compliance with professional standards and recommendations, having specified equipment and supplies, defining the responsibility of the medical staff and administration, implementing contracts, and developing a quality improvement program. The bill would set forth specific requirements for a physician who has responsibility of the standby perinatal services. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Humboldt and the County of Plumas. 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.
(1) Under existing law, a licensed health care provider who is authorized by law to prescribe an opioid antagonist may issue standing orders for the distribution of an opioid antagonist to a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose or to a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose. Existing law exempts a health care provider who acts with reasonable care in issuing a prescription or order for an opioid antagonist from professional review, civil action, or criminal prosecution, under certain circumstances. Existing law requires that a person who receives an opioid antagonist pursuant to a standing order or otherwise possesses an opioid antagonist receive training, as specified. Existing law provides that a person who is trained in the use of an opioid antagonist and acts with reasonable care and in good faith is not subject to professional review, liable in a civil action, or subject to criminal prosecution. This bill would expand the above-described authorizations to those who are at risk of or any person who may be in a position to assist a person experiencing any overdose and would strike the requirement that those who receive and possess opioid antagonists receive training. The bill would authorize a person in a position to assist a person at risk of an overdose to possess an opioid antagonist and subsequently dispense or distribute an opioid antagonist to a person at risk of an overdose or another person in a position to assist a person at risk of an overdose. The bill would instead exempt a person who administers an opioid antagonist in good faith, whether or not they were trained, from liability for civil damages, as specified, and would instead exempt a health care provider who acts with reasonable care from liability in a civil action for any injuries or damages relating to or resulting from the acts or omissions of any person who administers the opioid antagonist in good faith, as specified. (2) Existing law imposes a drug program fee for each separate controlled substance offense, as specified, to be deposited by the county treasurer in a drug program fund. Existing law requires that a portion of the fund be allocated to primary prevention programs in the community. This bill would state that primary prevention programs may include those activities aligned with evidence-based best practices, as specified. (3) Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate facilities that provide residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. Existing law authorizes a licensed alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility to permit incidental medical services, as defined, to be provided to a resident at the facility premises by a licensed physician and surgeon or other health care practitioner under specified limited circumstances, including that the resident has signed an admission agreement. Existing law requires a licensee to develop a plan to address when a resident relapses, including when a resident is on the licensed premises after consuming alcohol or using illicit drugs. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to offer a combined application for entities seeking licensure as an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility and to provide incidental medical services, as defined. The bill would prohibit the department from requiring an admission agreement to require a person to be abstinent and not intoxicated in order to be admitted to care or continue treatment. The bill would require a licensee to prioritize the individual maintaining some level of connection to treatment, following a relapse. (4) Existing law defines "drug- or alcohol-related program" as any program designed to reduce the unlawful use of, or assist those who engage in the unlawful use of, drugs or alcohol, through various means, such as intervention, treatment, and enforcement, among others. Existing law prohibits the encumbrance of state funds for a drug- or alcohol-related program unless it contains a component that explains that there is no unlawful use of drugs or alcohol and requires all aspects of a drug- or alcohol-related program receiving state funds to be consistent with the "no lawful use" message. This bill would redefine that term to mean any program designed to assist persons with substance use disorders and would strike enforcement from the specified means. The bill would repeal the above-described provisions related to the "no lawful use" message.
(1) Existing law, the California Nutrition Monitoring Development Act of 1986, requires the State Department of Public Health to assess the availability and adequacy of existing state and local food and nutrition data systems. The act requires different state departments, including the State Department of Education, to provide to the State Department of Public Health, upon request, nutrition-related data collection forms, documentation, and reports of various programs. This bill would define "ultraprocessed food" for certain school-related purposes and would require the State Department of Public Health to adopt regulations, on or before June 1, 2028, to define "ultraprocessed foods of concern" and "restricted school foods," as specified. The bill would require the department, when defining ultraprocessed foods of concern and restricted school foods, to consider specified factors, including, among others, whether, based on reputable peer-reviewed scientific evidence, a substance or group of substances are linked to health harms or adverse health consequences, as specified. The bill would require schools, as defined, to begin to phase out restricted school foods and ultraprocessed foods of concern by no later than July 1, 2029. Beginning July 1, 2032, the bill would prohibit a vendor from offering restricted school foods and ultraprocessed foods of concern to a school. This bill, on or before February 1, 2028, and on or before February 1 of each year thereafter through February 1, 2032, would require a vendor to report specified information to the State Department of Public Health for each food product sold to a school in the past calendar year, including, among others, the total quantity of food product sold to schools and whether that food product is an ultraprocessed food, a restricted school food, or an ultraprocessed food of concern. The bill, on or before July 1, 2028, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter through July 1, 2032, would require the State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report that contains, among other things, a summary and analysis of the information reported to the State Department of Public Health by vendors and recommendations for state and local legislative actions that could reduce the consumption of ultraprocessed foods, restricted school foods, and ultraprocessed foods of concern in schools. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to consult with the State Department of Education regarding compliance training and technical assistance for school food service and procurement staff for these purposes and would require the State Department of Public Health to establish a structure to deliver training and technical assistance to local educational agencies. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop and maintain nutrition guidelines for school lunches and breakfasts, and for all food and beverages sold on public school campuses, consistent with the requirements for a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch. Existing law defines a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch for these purposes to mean those that qualify for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal School Breakfast Program and the federal National School Lunch Program, respectively. Existing law requires a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to make available a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch, free of charge, during each schoolday to any pupil who requests a meal without consideration of the pupil's eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal. Existing law authorizes a school operated and maintained by a school district or county office of education, from the midnight before to 30 minutes after the end of the official schoolday, to sell food and beverages other than meals reimbursed by specified federal nutrition programs, only if the food or beverages meet dietary guidelines, as specified, depending on grade level. This bill, beginning July 1, 2035, would prohibit a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, from offering a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch that includes restricted school foods or ultraprocessed foods of concern, as provided, and would prohibit a school operated and maintained by a school district or county office of education from selling food or beverages, except for food items sold as part of a school fundraising event, containing those restricted school foods or ultraprocessed foods of concern, as provided. (3) To the extent this bill would impose additional requirements on public schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and requires the board to adopt and administer standards for the continuing education of those licensees. Existing law requires the board, in determining its continuing education requirements, to consider including a course in menopausal mental or physical health. This bill would delete that requirement of the board. The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2026, and until July 1, 2032, a qualifying physician and surgeon, as defined, who completes continuing medical education courses in perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal care to receive 2 hours of credit for each hour completed of that coursework, as specified. Existing law, the Osteopathic Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of osteopathic physicians and surgeons by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California and requires the board to adopt and administer standards for the continuing education of those licensees. This bill would require osteopathic physicians and surgeons to receive the same credit as described above for completed coursework relating to perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal care. (2) 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 also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law sets forth specified coverage requirements for health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy that covers outpatient prescription drugs, except as specified, that is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to include coverage for evaluation and treatment options for symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to annually provide clinical care recommendations, as specified, for hormone therapy to all contracted primary care providers who treat individuals with perimenopause and menopause. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund under the administration of the State Department of Public Health, for purposes of funding grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create programs, or funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI) . Existing law makes the grants available to TGI-serving organizations, as specified. Existing law defines terms, including "health care" and "gender nonconforming," for purposes of these provisions. This bill would rename the fund as the Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex (2TGI) Wellness and Equity Fund and would make a conforming change to a related provision. The bill would expand the availability of grant funds to 2TGI-serving organizations, as defined, for purposes of providing workforce development training for 2TGI individuals, resettlement and social integration programs for 2TGI asylees and immigrants, and diversion programs for, and outreach to, transitional-age 2TGI youth. Under the bill, an organization that serves tribal populations would also be eligible for a grant for any of the specified purposes if that organization applies in partnership with a 2TGI-serving organization. The bill would revise the definition of "health care" to include mental health services and would define "Two-Spirit" and "transitional-age 2TGI youth" for purposes of these provisions. The bill would make related legislative findings.
Existing law prohibits a person or business, as defined, from collecting, using, disclosing, or retaining the personal information of a person who is physically located at, or within a precise geolocation of, a family planning center, as defined, except as necessary to perform the services or provide the goods requested and prohibits a person or business from selling or sharing this personal information. Existing law authorizes an aggrieved person or entity to institute and prosecute a civil action against a person or business for a violation of these provisions and specifies the damages and costs authorized to be recovered. This bill would recast the above-described provisions, and instead prohibit the collection, use, disclosure, sale, sharing, or retention of the personal information of a natural person who is physically located at, or within a precise geolocation of, a family planning center, except under certain circumstances, including, among others, for the collection or use as necessary to perform the services or provide the goods requested. The bill would also provide that these provisions do not alter applicable law regarding use by a law enforcement agency, as defined, of personal information generated by an electronic monitoring device. The bill would authorize an aggrieved person to institute and prosecute a civil action against a natural person, association, proprietorship, corporation, trust, foundation, partnership, or any other organization or group of people acting in concert for a violation of these provisions. The bill would also make other nonsubstantive changes. This bill would, subject to specified exceptions, prohibit geofencing, or selling or sharing personal information with a third party to geofence, as defined, an entity that provides in-person health care services in California for specified purposes, and would prohibit the use of personal information obtained in violation of this provision. The bill would provide that violators are subject to an injunction and liable for a civil penalty assessed and recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General, and deposited in the California Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund. The bill would require those penalties to be awarded by the State Department of Public Health for grants to implement a program or to fund an existing program that provides and promotes medically accurate and comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education, as provided. The bill would also provide that a statement signed under penalty of perjury, as specified, that the personal information will not be used for selling or sharing personal information in violation of these geofencing provisions is prima facie evidence that the personal information was not sold or shared in violation of these geofencing provisions. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) , generally prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from disclosing medical information regarding a patient, enrollee, or subscriber without first obtaining an authorization, unless a specified exception applies. The CMIA prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, a contractor, or an employer from releasing medical information that would identify an individual or related to an individual seeking or obtaining an abortion in response to a subpoena or a request or to law enforcement if that subpoena, request, or the purpose of law enforcement for the medical information is based on, or for the purpose of enforcement of, either another state's laws that interfere with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. This bill would, similar to the provisions of the CMIA, prohibit the release of research records, in a personally identifying form, developed or acquired by a person in the course of conducting research relating to anyone seeking or obtaining health care services, or relating to personal information, in response to a subpoena or a request or to law enforcement if that subpoena, request, or the purpose of law enforcement for the medical information is based on, or for the purpose of enforcement of, either another state's laws that interfere with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. 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.
