Bill > AB2551

This bill expresses the intent of the California Legislature to enact new laws requiring health care service plans, which are organizations that provide health coverage, and health insurers, which are companies that offer health insurance policies, to gather and publicly share data on how many of their members are seeking behavioral health care, meaning mental health and substance use disorder treatment, either within their network of approved providers or outside of it. The bill also aims to have these plans and insurers conduct assessments to understand the cultural competency and health equity needs of their enrollees or insureds, identifying disparities based on various factors like age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, income, and location, and then use this information to develop training programs and improve health outcomes, especially for underserved communities. Additionally, the proposed legislation would add a question to the licensing renewal forms for healing arts providers, asking if they are currently contracted with a health plan or insurer, to help state regulators better track trends in provider networks across different regions, languages, and specialties.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2551