SB 582: Health information.

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 requires health care service plans and health insurers to establish and maintain specified application programming interfaces (API), including patient access API, to facilitate patient and provider access to health information and for the benefit of enrollees, insureds, and contracted providers. Existing law authorizes the departments to require a plan or insurer to establish and maintain specified API, including provider access API.

This bill would instead require the departments to require the plans and insurers to establish and maintain these specified API. The bill would exclude from the requirements of these provisions dental or vision benefits offered by a plan or insurer, including a specialized plan or insurer. 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.

Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA), which includes departments charged with administration of health, social, and human services. Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework that includes a single data sharing agreement and common set of policies and procedures that govern and require the exchange of health information among health care entities and government agencies in California. Existing law requires specified entities to execute the framework data sharing agreement on or before January 31, 2023.

This bill would, contingent on the stakeholder advisory group developing standards for including EHR vendors, as defined, require EHR vendors to execute the framework data sharing agreement. The bill would require any fees charged by an EHR vendor to enable compliance with the framework to comply with specified federal regulations and to be sufficient to include the cost of enabling the collection and sharing of all data required, as specified. The bill would authorize CHHSA to establish administrative oversight and enforcement authority, including fines, if fees charged by EHR vendors to specified entities are not in compliance with federal standards.

Existing law generally allows a health care professional to disclose test results electronically if requested by the patient. Existing law prohibits disclosing the results of a positive HIV test, test showing the presence of antigens indicating a hepatitis infection, tests showing drug abuse, or results and imaging scans that reveal a new or recurrent malignancy by electronic means unless the health care professional first discusses the results with the patient in person or by other means of oral communication.

This bill would alternatively authorize the disclosure of these specified test results by internet posting or other electronic means if the patient and health care professional have discussed the potential impact of the results and the patient elects to receive them without delay.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 130290 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 352 to be operative only if this bill and AB 352 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

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.