Title HSC, California Health & Safety Code

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, beginning January 1, 2018, a licensee pursuant to this chapter may provide any interdisciplinary hospice services described in this chapter, including, but not limited to, palliative care, to a patient with a serious illness as determined by the…

Each hospice licensed pursuant to this chapter shall maintain, and revise as needed, and implement policies regarding the purchase, storage, furnishing, and transportation of legend devices that are reviewed annually by a group of professional personnel, including a physician and…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) or (d) of Section 1747, no person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency shall establish, conduct, maintain, or represent itself as a hospice agency unless a license has been issued under this chapter.…

(a) To qualify for a license under this chapter, an applicant shall satisfy all of the following: (1) Be of good moral character. If the applicant is a franchise, franchisee, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, company, political subdivision…

The Legislature recognizes that hospices can apply for certification for their hospice programs from the federal Medicare program. If the department has determined during any combined licensing and certification survey that a hospice is in substantial compliance with a requiremen…

(a) Each new and renewal application for a license under this chapter shall be accompanied by an annual Licensing and Certification Program fee set in accordance with Section 1266. (b) All hospices shall maintain compliance with the licensing requirements. These requirements shal…

(a) Upon an applicant’s filing an application for licensure under this chapter and compliance with this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the state department under this chapter, the state department shall issue to the applicant a license to operate as a hospice. A…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department shall issue a license to a hospice agency that applies to the department for a hospice agency license and meets all of the following requirements: (1) Is accredited as a hospice by an entity approved by the f…

(a) A licensed hospice, at the state department’s option, may periodically be inspected by a duly authorized representative of the state department. Reports of each inspection shall be prepared by the representative who conducted the inspection, upon forms prepared and furnished …

(a) Any person may request an investigation of a hospice agency in accordance with this chapter by making a complaint to the department alleging a violation of applicable requirements prescribed by statutes or regulations of this state. A complaint may be made orally or in writin…

(a) The department shall adopt, amend, or repeal, in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this …

On or before January 1, 2026, the department shall adopt emergency regulations to implement the recommendations in California State Auditor Report 2021-123 on the California Hospice Licensure and Oversight (March 29, 2022). The department shall maintain the general moratorium on …

(a) Any licensee may, with the approval of the state department, surrender his or her license for suspension or cancellation by the state department. (b) Any license suspended or canceled pursuant to this section may be reinstated by the state department upon receipt of an applic…

(a) The department may deny any application for licensure, or suspend or revoke any license issued, under this chapter upon any of the following grounds: (1) Violation by the applicant or licensee of this chapter or any rules and regulations promulgated by the department under th…

(a) The suspension, expiration, or forfeiture by operation of law of a license issued by the state department under this chapter, the suspension or cancellation of a license by order of the state department or by order of a court of law, or the surrender of a license without the …

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), by imprisonment in the county jail for a …

The director may bring an action to enjoin the violation or threatened violation of Section 1748 in the superior court in and for the county in which the violation occurred or is about to occur. Any proceeding under this section shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 3 (com…

The district attorney of every county shall, upon application by the state department or its authorized representative, institute and conduct the prosecution within his or her county of any action for violation of this chapter. (Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1343, Sec. 1.)

(a) A hospice provider, employed hospice staff, or an agent for the hospice shall not give payment to referral sources for the referral of patients to the hospice. (b) A hospice salesperson, recruiter, agent, or employee who receives any form of compensation or remuneration for h…

For purposes of this article: (a) “Patient’s representative” means either a person designated by the patient as their representative or a person acting on the patient’s behalf under the authority of the Long-Term Care Patient Representative Program pursuant to Chapter 3.6 (commen…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided in Section 1751.75, on and after January 1, 2022, and until January 1, 2027, or one year after the date emergency regulations are adopted pursuant to Section 1753.1, the department shall not issue a new license to operate a…

(a) The department may grant an exception to the moratorium imposed by this article upon making a written finding that an applicant for a new license, or with a license application pending on January 1, 2022, has shown a demonstrable need for hospice services in the area where th…

This article shall not be deemed to modify the authority of the department to renew a license pursuant to this chapter. (Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 494, Sec. 1. (SB 664) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, pursuant to Section 1751.85.)

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed. (Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 494, Sec. 1. (SB 664) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions. Note: Repeal affects Article 2.3, commencing with Se…

(a) During the initial visit, in advance of furnishing care, a hospice shall provide a patient or the patient’s representative with verbal and written notice of the patient’s rights and responsibilities in a language and manner that the person understands. (b) For purposes of thi…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that California has a substantial public interest in the price, cost, utilization, equity, and quality of health care services. California is a major purchaser of health coverage through the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the State Dep…

(a) The department shall establish, implement, and administer the Health Care Payments Data Program to implement and administer the system in accordance with this chapter. (b) The system shall collect data on all California residents to the extent feasible and permissible subject…

(a) (1) The Department of Health Care Access and Information shall convene a Health Care Payments Data Program advisory committee, composed of health care stakeholders and experts, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Health care service plans, including speci…

The department shall ensure that the system can map to other datasets, including public health datasets on morbidity and mortality, and data regarding the social determinants of health. (Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 143, Sec. 92. (AB 133) Effective July 27, 2021.)

Until June 30, 2028, for purposes of implementing this chapter, including, but not limited to, hiring staff and consultants, facilitating and conducting meetings, conducting research and analysis, and developing the required reports, the department may enter into exclusive or non…

(a) The department shall develop guidance to require data submission from the entities specified in this chapter. The guidance shall include a methodology for the collection, validation, refinement, analysis, comparison, review, and improvement of health care data to be submitted…

(a) For purposes of this section, “pharmacy benefits manager” or “PBM” means an entity that is required to be licensed pursuant to Section 1385.008. (b) Notwithstanding any other state law, for the purpose of providing information for inclusion in the system, PBMs shall provide t…

(a) (1) The department shall report the information it receives pursuant to this chapter in a form that allows valid comparisons across care delivery systems. (2) The department shall develop policies and procedures to outline the format and type of data to be submitted pursuant …

(a) In the development of the system, the department or its designee shall consult with state and federal entities, as necessary, to implement the program. State entities shall assist and provide to the department access to datasets needed to effectuate the intent of this chapter…

(a) The department shall develop and maintain a master person index, a master index of providers and suppliers, and a master payer index that will enable the matching of California residents longitudinally and across coverage sources, and will enable the matching of providers and…

(a) The department shall develop regulations on data quality and improvement processes and shall make these processes publicly available. (b) Data quality processes shall be applied to each major phase of the system life cycle, including, but not limited to: (1) Source data intak…

(a) (1) The purpose of the system is to learn about and seek to improve public health, population health, social determinants of health, and the health care system, not about individual patients. (2) All policies and procedures developed in implementing this chapter shall ensure …

The department shall develop an information security program that uses existing state standards and complies with applicable state and federal laws. (Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 143, Sec. 100. (AB 133) Effective July 27, 2021.)

The department shall include in an annual analysis, such as, but not limited to, the following: (a) Population and regional level data on prevention, screening, and wellness utilization. (b) Population and regional level data on chronic conditions, management, and outcomes. (c) P…

(a) The department shall use the program data to produce publicly available information, including data products, summaries, analyses, studies, and other reports, to support the goals of the program. The department shall receive input on priorities for the public information port…

(a) (1) All personal consumer information obtained or maintained by the program shall be confidential. (2) Only deidentified aggregate patient or other consumer data shall be included in a publicly available analysis, data product, or research. (b) All policies and procedures dev…

(a) The department shall develop a comprehensive program for data use, access, and release that includes data use agreements that require data users to comply with this chapter. The purpose of the data use, access, and release program is to ensure that only aggregated, deidentifi…

(a) In accessing or obtaining nonpublic data through the secure environment, users shall only have access to the minimum amount of potentially identifiable data necessary for an approved project or access to a dataset designed for an approved purpose. Each person who accesses or …

(a) The department shall establish a data release committee with a membership of at least 7 and no more than 11 members appointed by the director. Notwithstanding any other law, a quorum shall be achieved with one fewer member than one-half of the full membership. (b) The appoint…

(a) The department shall expend the General Fund moneys appropriated in the 2018–19 Budget Act (Chapter 23 of the Statutes of 2019) for the purposes of this chapter and the former Health Care Transparency Database to fund the implementation and operation of the program. (b) The H…

The department shall notify the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance, as appropriate, if a health care service plan or health insurer fails to comply with this chapter. The Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance shall take ap…