2023-2024

CHBRP generally analyzes introduced bills prior to their first Senate or Assembly Health Committee hearing. Completed CHBRP analyses (and the analyzed bill language) are available at http://chbrp.org/analysis/completed-analyses. As bills move through the Legislature, bills may be significantly amended, which may alter CHBRP’s projected impacts. The table, below, indicates the current version of each analyzed bill and the extent to which CHBRP’s analyses remain relevant. Current bill language and the bill status are available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/.

CHBRP’s analyses may still be of use after the legislative cycle concludes in order to inform future legislation, the implementation of analyzed legislation that is signed into law or included in California’s budget, and the ongoing evaluation of relevant health benefit mandates and repeals.

Bill Number Bill Author Bill Title Current location Bill amended since CHBRP analysis? Which portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant?
AB 85 Weber
Social Determinants of Health: Screening and Outreach
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/08/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. Amended language would expand which health care professionals health plans/policies are required to provide information about access to, and could lead to more enrollees gaining access to these professionals and receiving services they otherwise would not have. Additionally, implementation of AB 85 would be delayed until 2026, with a report from the working group submitted in 2027. Language has also been added specifying reimbursement rates for FQHCs.
AB 620 Connolly
Metabolic Disorders
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/08/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant; however, the utilization and cost impacts may decrease due to amended bill language excluding coverage for special food products for people with chronic digestive disorders. Amended language delays the implementation date by six months to July 1, 2024.
AB 716 Boerner Horvath
Emergency Ground Medical Transportation
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/6/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 874 Weber
Out-of-pocket Expenses
 Assembly Health committee hearing postponed No All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 907 Lowenthal
Coverage for PANDAS and PANS
Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 7/03/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 1048 Wicks
Dental Benefits and Rate Review
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/8/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant, however, the fiscal impacts have been reduced due to the removal of prohibitions of waiting periods and preexisting conditions for dental plan products in the individual and small group markets. In addition, implementation is now delayed to 1/1/2025 vs 1/1/2024.
AB 1060 Ortega
Naloxone Hydrochloride
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/8/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s updated analysis published June 23, 2023, remain relevant.
AB 1157 Ortega
Rehabilitative and Habilitative Services: Durable Medical Equipment and Services
 Held under submission in the Senate Yes Bill amended – 7/13/2023 – Amended language would require the California Secretary of Health and Human Services to seek ways of implementing this mandate that would not exceed Essential Health Benefits in California. All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 1288 Reyes
Medication-Assisted Treatment
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 7/13/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. For commercial/CalPERS enrollees, amended language would additionally prohibit the application of prior authorization or step therapy requirements to the coverage of naloxone products or another opioid antagonist approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An emergency intervention, opioid antagonists are used when an overdose appears to be occurring and naloxone is broadly distributed (without cost) by multiple organizations seeking to decrease overdose deaths and is available over-the-counter (without a prescription). As neither step therapy nor prior authorization requirements are likely to be applied to an emergency-use medication that is broadly available without cost, the additional prohibitions are unlikely to have a measurable impact.
AB 1451 Jackson
Behavioral Health Crisis Treatment
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 7/13/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 1645 Zbur
Cost Sharing
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 7/13/2023 – Amended language would, for small group and individual market plans and policies, delay the implementation of some requirements by 12 months. Amended language requires reimbursement of nonparticipating essential community providers at either the plan/insurer’s average contracted rate or 125% of the amount Medicare reimburses, whichever is greater. The inclusion of the rate related to Medicare and the requirement of using whichever is greater would result in some increased reimbursements, which would increase the impact on total expenditures from $20,065,000 to $23,237,000. All other portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 2028 Ortega
Medical Loss Ratio
 Assembly policy committee hearing canceled at the request of the author No All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 2180 Weber
Cost Sharing
 Held under submission in the Assembly Yes Bill amended – 4/30/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. Amended language broadens the definition of “third-party patient assistance program,” which expands the scope of the bill to include financial assistance from for-profit entities. As a result, the estimated total net annual expenditures would be higher. Amended language also adds several reporting requirements for state regulators and state-regulated health plans insurers, as well as a 10-year sunset to the bill’s provision, none of which would alter CHBRP’s estimated fiscal projections.
AB 2467 Bauer-Kahan
Menopause
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 8/23/2024 – The bill has been amended to explicitly exempt from compliance DMHC-regulated plans enrolling Medi-Cal beneficiaries. For the drugs included in the CHBRP analysis, the set generally recommended for treatment of menopause, the analysis’ discussion of medical effectiveness and projection of impacts on utilization and costs remain relevant. However, the prohibition of utilization management and the assignment of medical necessity determination exclusively to the provider would likely create additional (higher) fiscal impacts. The magnitude of fiscal impact is unknown, as is the potential set of additional drugs and additional treatments are unknown.
AB 2668 Berman
Cranial Prostheses
 Held under submission in the Assembly No All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 2843 Petrie-Norris
Rape and Sexual Assault
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 8/23/24 – Amended language limits the length of time a plan/policy must cover sexual assault services to the first nine months after the enrollee initiates treatment. The change may reduce fiscal impacts estimated by CHBRP- which were calculated for one year postmandate - depending on when services would be delivered to enrollees. All other portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
AB 3059 Weber
Human Milk
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 8/20/24 – Amended language would not require coverage of human milk-derived fortifiers (HMF), which would mean somewhat less utilization of HMF and a decrease in the expected shift of related costs from providers to health insurers; thus, there would be a decrease in premiums. Amended language would define the provision of donor human milk (DHM) from any state-licensed tissue bank as a basic health care service. The change would not be expected to alter DHM utilization in the first year postmandate, but greater numbers of suppliers might increase utilization in following years. All portions of CHBRP’s analysis related to DHM remain relevant.
AB 3245 Patterson
Colorectal Cancer Screening
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 6/10/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 70 Wiener
Prescription Drug Coverage
 Held under submission in Assembly Health Committee Yes Bill amended – 6/29/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 90 Wiener
Insulin Affordability
Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/6/2023 – Amended language delays implementation in the small group and individual markets until 2025. All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. 2025. Additionally, for individual and small group plans and policies, cost sharing limits are only applicable to insulin products covered under Tiers 1 and 2. It is possible this amended language would result in higher cost sharing for some portion of enrollees whose insulin is covered under a higher tier.
SB 339 Wiener
HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis and Postexposure Prophylaxis
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 1/8/2024 – Amended language would strike requirement for pharmacist services to be reimbursed at 100% of the fee schedule for physician services and instead require reimbursement for pharmacist services performed at in-network pharmacies and out-of-network pharmacies if the plan/insurer has an out-of-network pharmacy benefit. Estimated fiscal impacts may be reduced due to potentially lower reimbursement rates. All other portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 427 Portantino
Antiretroviral Drugs, Devices, and Products
 Held at Assembly Desk Yes Bill amended – 4/4/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. Amended language exempts the insurance of Medi-Cal beneficiaries in plansplans regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care, and delays implementation of the bill for the individual and small group until January 1, 2026.
SB 621 Caballero
Biosimilar Drugs
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 5/02/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 635 Menjivar and Portantino
Hearing Aids
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/8/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis (which was based on June 8th amended language) remain relevant. The July 13th amendment delays implementation until 2025. The bill was amended on 9/8/2023 to exclude Medi-Cal, however existing coverage already exists in Medi-Cal and thus did not impact CHBRP’s fiscal projections.
SB 694 Eggman
Medi-Cal: Self-Measured Blood Pressure Devices and Services
 Vetoed by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 9/01/2023 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 729 Menjivar
Treatment for Infertility and Fertility Services
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 8/22/2024 – Amended language would require coverage of fertility services for large group plans and policies, and would require small group plans and policies to offer coverage for fertility services. Amended language specifies fertility services includes a maximum of three completed oocyte retrievals, and also adds an exemption for religious employers. August 2024 amendments delay implementation until July 1, 2025 for most plans and policies, and until July 1, 2027 for CalPERS plans. Scenario 2 remains relevant, although impacts would likely be reduced marginally due to the exemption for religious employers.
SB 839 Bradford
Obesity Parity Act
 January 10 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. No All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. See also CHBRP’s letter regarding SB 1008 (Bradford).
SB 1008 Bradford
Obesity Parity Act
 Held under submission in the Senate Yes Bill amended – 4/29/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant.
SB 1180 Ashby
Emergency Medical Services
 Approved by the Governor Yes Bill amended – 6/24/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. The number of mobile integrated health programs may increase more than anticipated due to amended bill language (4/29/24) removing the phrase “fire department-based” from the definition of mobile integrated health programs. Amended language (5/16/24) conditions Medi-Cal coverage on an appropriation, receipt of any necessary federal approvals, and the availability of federal financial participation.
SB 1236 Blakespear
Medicare Supplements
Held under submission in the Senate Yes Bill amended – 4/29/2024 – All portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant. As amended, SB 1236 would alter an existing law that addresses Medicare Supplement plans and policies. The existing law, as would SB 1236 requires open enrollment as each beneficiary becomes initially eligible. Additionally, the existing law annually allows enrolled beneficiaries to change Medicare Supplement plans or policies (to one of equal or lesser value) at each beneficiary’s birthday. As amended, SB 1236 would alter the existing law to end the exclusion of beneficiaries with end stage renal disease (ESRD) from these enrollment periods. The proposed changes to the existing law could result in earlier enrollment (by some months) in Medicare Supplement by some beneficiaries with ESRD. However, as the initial version of SB 1236 analyzed by CHBRP (as well as the amended version) would allow such enrollment every January and would not exclude beneficiaries with ESRD, the additional enrollment would be limited and CHBRP would expect no substantive impact differences.
Bill Number Bill Author Bill Title Current location Amended Which portions of CHBRP’s analysis remain relevant?