Existing law, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act, declares the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of students and residents receiving quality education and training in specified primary care specialties and as primary care physician's assistants, primary care nurse practitioners, and registered nurses. This bill would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information to maintain a New Nursing Graduate Support and Placement Program to award program grants to community college associate degree of nursing programs, through which support grants would be awarded to recent graduates for loan repayment assistance, relocation, transportation, housing assistance, childcare, and other financial support. The bill would specify grant eligibility criteria for community colleges and recent graduates. The bill would require the department to consider labor standards of hospital sites that employ support grant applicants when determining grant distribution. Implementation of these provisions would be contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would also express the intent of the Legislature to support and strengthen existing programs that train registered nurses under the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act.
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. Under existing law, to the extent that federal financial participation is available, federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services are covered Medi-Cal benefits. Under existing law, FQHCs and RHCs receive a per-visit prospective payment system (PPS) rate for each visit. Existing law provides different methods by which an FQHC or RHC may establish a PPS. This bill would authorize an FQHC or RHC that has multiple PPS rates to elect to consolidate those rates into a single PPS rate to be applied uniformly for all FQHC and RHC services.
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.
This measure would designate the week of May 24, 2026, to May 30, 2026, inclusive, as California OB-GYN Week to recognize the essential contributions of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs) to the health care system and the critical role they play in delivering comprehensive, preventive, and primary care services, and to encourage the continued recognition and support of OB-GYNs to ensure access to high-quality, equitable health care for all Californians.
Senate Resolution 82 declares February 2026 as Children's Dental Health Month in California to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. The resolution highlights that tooth decay is a major public health issue affecting many children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and notes that untreated dental problems can lead to missed school days and learning difficulties. While acknowledging recent improvements in access to Medi-Cal dental services, the bill emphasizes the need for continued efforts to prevent cavities through education and preventive care. This measure serves as a symbolic recognition rather than establishing new laws or funding, aiming to encourage policymakers and the public to focus on childhood oral health.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine. Existing law establishes within the act the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program, which authorizes the board to issue a limited number of nonrenewable 3-year physician's and surgeon's licenses to physicians from Mexico who are licensed, certified, or recertified and in good standing in their medical specialty in Mexico and who meet specified other requirements. This bill would establish the Doctors from El Salvador Program for the purpose of permitting licensed physicians from El Salvador to practice medicine in California for up to 3 years. The bill would require the program to be developed in consultation with representatives from a community health clinic in California that has an established partnership and framework with specified universities in El Salvador and would require the program to, among other things, recruit and vet candidates and assist candidates for the program in El Salvador to meet all program requirements. The bill would require the board to issue a nonrenewable 3-year physician and surgeon's license to a person who is licensed, certified, or recertified, and in good standing in the applicable medical specialty in El Salvador and who meets other requirements of the program. This bill would require a licensee in the program to practice only in the nonprofit community health center that offered the licensee employment and the corresponding hospital. The bill would require a federally qualified health center employing a licensee in the program to take certain actions, including creating and maintaining medical quality assurance protocols for those licensees. The bill would also require the federally qualified health centers to work with a California medical school or residency program to conduct 10 secondary reviews of randomly selected patient encounters with each of those licensees every 6 months, as specified. The bill would also require the faculty from the medical school or residency program and federally qualified health center chief medical officers to jointly develop 2 quality assurance seminars to be attended by the licensees. This bill would require an evaluation of the program to be conducted 12 months after the program has commenced by one of specified universities in El Salvador and an unspecified medical school in southern California, except that if the evaluation does not begin within 18 months of commencement of the program, the bill would require the Director of Consumer Affairs to select an independent consultant to conduct the evaluation. The bill would require progress reports to be provided to the Legislature on achievable time intervals beginning in the 2nd year of implementation of the program. The bill would require the board to coordinate with the community health center, as specified, to ensure that the number of program participants that are issued a license does not exceed a certain number of licensees, based on the year in which the applicant applies. The bill would establish various fees to be deposited in the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California or the CURES Fund, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, 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 establishes a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program and provides for various services, including comprehensive perinatal services and federally qualified health center (FQHC) and rural health clinic (RHC) services, that are rendered by Medi-Cal enrolled providers. Under existing law, FQHCs and RHCs receive a per-visit prospective payment system (PPS) rate for each visit. Existing law establishes the Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program, the goals of which are to decrease and maintain the decreased level of perinatal, maternal, and infant mortality and morbidity in the State of California and to support methods of providing comprehensive prenatal care that prevent prematurity and the incidence of low birth weight infants. Under the program, the State Department of Public Health is required to develop and maintain a statewide comprehensive community-based perinatal services program and enter into contracts, grants, or agreements with health care providers to deliver these services in a coordinated effort. Existing law also requires the department to monitor the delivery of services under those contracts, grants, and agreements through a uniform health data collection system that utilizes epidemiologic methodology. This bill would instead require the State Department of Health Care Services to oversee a statewide comprehensive community-based perinatal services program and enroll health care providers to deliver these services to Medi-Cal members and make conforming changes, but would maintain the State Department of Public Health's role with related contracts, grants, and agreements. The bill would specify that any participation by the State Department of Public Health does not change the State Department of Health Care Services' authority to implement comprehensive community-based perinatal services for purposes of the Medi-Cal program. By January 1, 2028, the bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, to clarify each department's roles and responsibilities regarding comprehensive perinatal services by regulation. The bill would, among other things, require the State Department of Health Care Services to develop informational and educational materials on comprehensive perinatal services by January 1, 2028, and require all Medi-Cal managed care plans to disseminate the materials, as specified. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than July 15, 2027, to submit to the Assembly Committee on Health and the Senate Committee on Health, and post on its internet website, a report that identifies the number of pregnant and postpartum individuals that received comprehensive perinatal services from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2025, inclusive. The bill would also require the State Department of Health Care Services, commencing July 15, 2028, and every 3 years thereafter, to submit to those committees, and post on its internet website, a report that identify the number of pregnant and postpartum individuals that received and were offered comprehensive perinatal services during the previous 3 calendar years. This bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan to inform each Medi-Cal member treated during the perinatal period regarding the availability of and access to comprehensive perinatal services.
(1) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, implement and administer various programs relating to public health. Existing law, the Valley Fever Education, Early Diagnosis, and Treatment Act, states the intent of the Legislature to raise awareness of the symptoms, tests, and treatments for valley fever among the general public, primary health care providers, and health care providers who care for persons at higher risk for getting valley fever. This bill, the Valley Fever Screening and Prevention Act of 2025, would require the department, in consultation with subject matter experts, to the extent feasible and using available data and resources, including public health surveillance data, to annually analyze and identify regions with elevated rates of valley fever. The bill would require the department to publish its first list of high-incidence regions for valley fever on or before March 1, 2027. The bill would require the department to provide local health departments in high-incidence regions with detailed infection data and standardized screening protocols that align with the current national clinical practice recommendations for valley fever. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 2 years thereafter, to evaluate the effectiveness of the valley fever screening and prevention program and report its findings to the Legislature. This bill would require local health departments in high-incidence areas to conduct outreach to health care providers and the general public to raise awareness of valley fever risks, symptoms, and prevention strategies. The bill would require local health departments to annually report the number of confirmed cases of valley fever to the department, as specified. By imposing duties on local health departments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities and clinics by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill, commencing January 1, 2028, would require an adult patient receiving primary care services in a facility, clinic, unlicensed clinic, center, office, or other setting, and in a high-incidence region for valley fever, to be screened for valley fever, to the extent the services are covered under the patient's health insurance, unless specified circumstances exist. If the results of a screening suggest that testing should be considered, the bill would require the health care provider to offer the patient diagnostic testing. If the test result is positive, the health care provider shall offer care, as specified, for valley fever management. The bill would prohibit a health care provider who, based on their professional judgment, determines it is not appropriate to screen, offer to screen, or consider or offer a patient testing for valley fever from being subject to any disciplinary action related to their licensure, certification, or privileges in relation to that determination. The bill would also prohibit a violation of these provisions from being the basis of civil or criminal liability. By expanding the scope of a crime applicable to the health care settings described above, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would prohibit a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy, except as specified, from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other requirement on a valley fever screening or test, as specified, in high-incidence regions for valley fever. Because a violation of this requirement relative to health care service plans would be a crime, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so 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. 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.
This measure would designate the week of March 16, 2025, to March 22, 2025, 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.
