Social determinants of health: screening and outreach.

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 include coverage for screening for various conditions and circumstances, including adverse childhood experiences. 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. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, to include coverage for screenings for social determinants of health, as defined. The bill would require providers to use standardized codes when documenting patient responses to questions asked in these screenings, and would require providers to use existing tools or protocols to conduct the screenings. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to provide physicians who provide primary care services with adequate access to peer support specialists, lay health workers, social workers, or community health workers in counties where the plan or insurer has enrollees or insureds, as specified. The bill would authorize the respective departments to adopt guidance to implement its provisions until regulations are adopted, and would require the departments to coordinate in the development of guidance and regulations. Because a violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make social determinants of health screenings a covered benefit for Medi-Cal beneficiaries and would require the State Department of Health Care Services or a Medi-Cal managed care plan to provide reimbursement for those screenings, as specified. The bill would provide that these provisions will be implemented only upon an appropriation by the Legislature. 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.