This measure would recognize July 28 as World Hepatitis Day and would urge all California institutions, nonprofit organizations, health care organizations, businesses, community leaders, and residents to ensure screenings for hepatitis B and C, vaccinations for hepatitis B, and treatment become the standard of care.
This measure would designate October 23, 2023, as Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC) Deficiency Awareness Day in the state.
This measure would recognize August 15, 2023, as India's Independence Day and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.
This measure would proclaim August 2023 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2023 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve women's access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.
This measure would recognize the 50th anniversary of hip hop on August 11, 2023, as a time of celebration, pride, and nostalgia for the citizens of California.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to administer a statewide program for prenatal testing for genetic disorders and birth defects, including, but not limited to, ultrasound, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, and blood testing. Existing law requires the department to expand prenatal screening to include all tests that meet or exceed the current standard of care as recommended by nationally recognized medical or genetic organizations and to establish any rules, regulations, and standards for prenatal diagnostic testing and the allocation of subsidies, as specified. Existing law requires a clinical laboratory performing laboratory tests or examinations classified as moderate or high complexity under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) to obtain a clinical laboratory license from the department. Existing law generally exempts specified clinical laboratories from rules and regulations of the department, including clinical laboratories owned and operated by the United States and certified under CLIA. Under existing regulations, a certificate of accreditation issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services is considered a state license or registration issued by the department, as specified. Existing law requires a city or county public health laboratory, as specified, to be approved by the department and to comply with the requirements of CLIA. This bill would prohibit the department, by way of rule, regulation, contract, or any other manner, from preventing a laboratory with both a CLIA certificate of accreditation and a current state clinical or public health laboratory license from offering all noninvasive prenatal tests to pregnant persons who have an order from a prenatal care provider, as defined. The bill would also prohibit the department from limiting the number of noninvasive prenatal tests that the laboratory may provide.
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. Existing law generally authorizes a health care service plan or health insurer to use prior authorization and other utilization review or utilization management functions, under which a licensed physician or a licensed health care professional who is competent to evaluate specific clinical issues may approve, modify, delay, or deny requests for health care services based on medical necessity. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer, including those plans or insurers that delegate utilization review or utilization management functions to medical groups, independent practice associations, or to other contracting providers, to comply with specified requirements and limitations on their utilization review or utilization management functions. Existing law requires the criteria or guidelines used to determine whether or not to authorize, modify, or deny health care services to be developed with involvement from actively practicing health care providers. On or after January 1, 2026, this bill would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer from requiring a contracted health professional to complete or obtain a prior authorization for any covered health care services if the plan or insurer approved or would have approved not less than 90% of the prior authorization requests they submitted in the most recent completed one-year contracted period. The bill would set standards for this exemption and its denial, rescission, and appeal. The bill would authorize a plan or insurer to evaluate the continuation of an exemption not more than once every 12 months, and would authorize a plan or insurer to rescind an exemption only at the end of the 12-month period and only if specified criteria are met. The bill would require a plan or insurer to provide an electronic prior authorization process. The bill would also require a plan or insurer to have a process for annually monitoring prior authorization approval, modification, appeal, and denial rates to identify services, items, and supplies that are regularly approved, and to discontinue prior authorization on those services, items, and supplies that are approved 95% of the time. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements relative to health care service plans 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 Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. Existing law requires the council to develop and implement a voluntary sustainable seafood promotion program for the state, to consist of specified components, including a competitive grant and loan program for eligible entities, including, but not limited to, fishery groups and associations, for the purpose of assisting California fisheries in qualifying for certification to internationally accepted standards for sustainable seafood. This bill would require the council, on or before January 1, 2026, in coordination and in consultation with various entities, including the State Air Resources Board, to implement a statewide voluntary vessel speed reduction and sustainable shipping program for the California coast in order to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts. The bill would require the program to expand a certain existing program and would authorize the program to include specified components, including incentives to program participants based on a percentage of distance traveled by a participating vessel at a reduced speed, as provided. The bill would limit application of the program to vessels that are 300 gross tons or greater. The bill would require the council, on or before December 31, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the implementation of the program.
