§ 127501.4. — 127501.4. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 129.)

(a)
(1)
Notwithstanding any other state or local law, the office shall collect data and other information it determines necessary from health care entities, except exempted providers, to carry out the functions of the office. To the extent consistent with federal law and to the greatest extent possible, the office may use existing and emerging public and private data sources to minimize administrative burdens and duplicative reporting, including data or information from federal agencies as well as state agencies. The office may request data and information from, or enter into a data sharing agreement with, the State Department of Health Care Services, Covered California, the Department of Managed Health Care, the Department of Insurance, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Business, Consumer
Services, and Housing Agency, and other relevant state agencies that monitor compliance of plans and providers with access standards, including timely access, language access, geographic access, and other access standards as provided by law and regulation. The office may also enter into a data sharing agreement with these state agencies that collect payer and provider financial data or other data or information about the health care workforce.
(2)
In furtherance of this chapter, and with the intent to reduce administrative burdens, the office shall coordinate with the State Department of Health Care Services on data and other information necessary to report both of the following:
(A)
Total health care expenditures and per capita total health care expenditures for Medi-Cal services.
(B)
Medical loss ratios required
under applicable state and federal laws.
(C)
Quality and equity measures to assess performance for the Medi-Cal program or other programs administered by the State Department of Health Care Services.
(3)
(A)
The office shall obtain from the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance information about health care services plans, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1345, and insurers offering policies of health insurance, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 106 of the Insurance Code. The information shall be for coverage in the individual, small group, and large group markets for both grandfathered and nongrandfathered products. The information shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)
Information on premiums, cost sharing, benefits, and other
information required under Article 6.2 (commencing with Section 1385.01) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of this code and Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 10181) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code.
(ii)
Trend factors by benefit category, such as inpatient hospitalization and physician services, including price, utilization, and cost as a percentage of Medicare, as required by Section 1385.045 of this code and Section 10181.45 of the Insurance Code.
(iii)
Medical loss ratio for each health care service plan or health insurer under applicable state and federal laws.
(iv)
Cost containment and quality improvement efforts reported consistent with Sections 1385.03 and 1385.045 of this code and Sections 10181.3 and 10181.45 of the Insurance Code.
(v)
Prescription drug costs consistent with Section 1367.243 and Article 6.1 (commencing with Section 1385.001) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of this code and Section 10123.205 of the Insurance Code.
(vi)
Information regarding health equity and quality required under Article 11.9 (commencing with Section 1399.870) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2, including data and results.
(B)
The Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance shall provide the above information in the initial submission of data to the office for the five years prior to 2023, to the extent that information is available, and annually thereafter.
(b)
The office shall establish requirements for payers and fully integrated delivery systems to submit data and other information necessary to do all of the following:
(1)
Measure total health care expenditures and per capita total health care expenditures.
(2)
Determine whether health care entities met health care cost targets.
(3)
Identify the annual change in health care costs of health care entities.
(4)
Approve and monitor implementation of performance improvement plans.
(5)
Assess performance on quality and equity measures.
(c)
The office shall, in a manner prescribed by the office, establish requirements for providers to submit data in support of this section as necessary to carry out the functions of the office.
(d)
(1)
For the purpose of the baseline health care spending report published pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 127501.6, payers and fully integrated delivery systems shall submit data on total health care expenditures for the 2022 and 2023 calendar years on or before September 1, 2024. Enforcement shall not be implemented pursuant to this baseline report, except any enforcement actions necessary to ensure compliance with the deadline for submitting data.
(2)
For the first annual report, published pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 127501.6, payers and fully integrated delivery systems shall submit data on total health care expenditures for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years based on a reporting schedule established by the office. For subsequent annual reports, payers and fully integrated delivery systems shall submit data for the relevant calendar years according to the reporting schedule established
by the office.
(e)
(1)
The office shall require health care entities to submit data and other information as necessary to fulfill its functions and measure total health care expenditures and per capita total health care expenditures by sectors.
(2)
For the calculation of total health care expenditures and per capita total health care expenditures by sectors, the office shall use the Health Care Payments Data Program, established pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 127671), to the greatest extent possible, to minimize reporting burdens for health care entities, and may also use data from federal agencies.
(f)
The office shall require payers, fully integrated delivery systems, hospitals, and physician organizations to report data and other information, as necessary, for the single set
of standard quality measures pursuant to Section 127503.
(g)
(1)
The office shall require payers, fully integrated delivery systems, restricted health care service plans, and limited health care service plans, as defined in Section 1300.49 of Title 28 of the California Code of Regulations, to submit data and other information to measure the adoption of alternative payment models pursuant to Section 127504.
(2)
The office shall establish requirements for payers, fully integrated delivery systems, restricted health care service plans, and limited health care service plans, as defined in Section 1300.49 of Title 28 of the California Code of Regulations, to report data and other information, including, but not limited to, the types of payment models, adoption by line of business, the number of members covered by alternative payment models, the percent of budget
dedicated to alternative payments, or cost and quality performance measures tied to those payment models.
(h)
(1)
The office shall require payers, fully integrated delivery systems, restricted health care service plans, and limited health care service plans, as defined in Section 1300.49 of Title 28 of the California Code of Regulations, to submit data and other information to measure the percentage of total health care expenditures allocated to primary care and behavioral health pursuant to Section 127505.
(2)
For the calculation of total health care expenditures allocated to primary care and behavioral health, the office shall do all of the following:
(A)
Use the Health Care Payments Data Program, established pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 127671), to the greatest extent
possible, to minimize reporting burdens for health care entities.
(B)
Determine the categories of health care professionals who should be considered primary care and behavioral health providers and consider existing state and national approaches, as appropriate.
(C)
Determine specific procedure codes that should be considered primary care and behavioral health services and consider existing state and national approaches, as appropriate.
(D)
Determine the categories of payments to primary care or behavioral health care providers and practices, including non-claims-based payments, such as alternative payment models, that should be included when determining the total amount spent on primary care and behavioral health.
(i)
(1)
With
consideration to minimizing reporting burdens and expenses, the office shall require providers and any physician organizations that are part of a fully integrated delivery system to submit audited financial reports, similar to those required in paragraphs (a) to (e), inclusive, of Section 128735. This paragraph does not apply to exempted providers.
(2)
For physician organizations defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (p) of Section 127500, and providers that do not routinely prepare audited financial reports, the office shall require a comprehensive financial statement that includes details regarding annual costs, annual receipts, realized capital gains and losses, and accumulated surplus and accumulated reserves using the standard accounting method routinely used by the physician organization or provider. The comprehensive financial statement shall be supported by sworn written declarations by the chief financial officer, chief executive
officer, or other officer who has financial management and oversight responsibilities for the physician organization or provider, certifying that the financial statement is complete, true, and correct in all material matters to the best of their knowledge, and that the provider does not routinely prepare audited financial reports. This paragraph does not apply to exempted providers and physician organizations that are part of a fully integrated delivery system.
(3)
The board, members of the board, the office, the department, and the employees, contractors, and advisors of the office and the department shall keep the audited financial reports and comprehensive financial statements confidential, and shall use the confidential information and documents only as necessary for the function of the office.
(4)
This subdivision does not apply to providers that are already required to
report under Section 128735 or risk bearing organizations (RBOs) that are required to file quarterly and annual financial statements under Section 1375.4 of this code and Section 1300.75.4.2 of Title 28 of the California Code of Regulations.
(5)
Notwithstanding any other law, all information and documents obtained under this subdivision shall not be required to be disclosed pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) or any similar local law requiring the disclosure of public records.
(j)
(1)
Consistent with subdivision (a), the office shall obtain data from existing state and federal data sources and from regulated entities to effectively monitor impacts to health care workforce stability and training needs.
(2)
In order for an adjustment to cost targets to be made under paragraph (7) of subdivision (d) of Section 127502, a provider, a fully integrated delivery system, or other associated party shall produce actual or projected nonsupervisory employee organized labor costs, including increased expenditures related to compensation, and any other supporting information to validate the adjustment, as may be requested by the office pertaining to the actual or projected organized labor costs.
(3)
The office may collect all of the following types of data and make it accessible to the public:
(A)
Overall trends in the health care workforce, including, but not limited to, statewide and regional workforce supply, unemployment and wage data, trends and projections of wages and compensation, projections of workforce supply by region and specialty, training needs, and other future
trends in the health care workforce.
(B)
The number and classification of workers in internship, clinical placements, apprenticeships, and other training programs sponsored by an employer.
(C)
The percentage of employees employed through a registry or casual employment.
(D)
The number of workers at health care entities that were retrained through established public training programs.
(E)
Investments by health care entities in private training and retraining programs.
(F)
The number of workers subject to relocation, termination, or mass layoff as described in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1400) of Part 4 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(4)
The office may request additional data from health care entities if it finds that the data is needed to effectively monitor impacts to health care workforce stability and training needs.
(5)
The office may annually request from health care entities that are in compliance with the cost target, a summary of best practices used for improving health care affordability, if any.
(k)
In furtherance of this section, the office shall promulgate regulations to collect data and other information it determines necessary from health care entities, except exempted providers, to carry out the functions of the office. The regulations may include, but are not limited to, detailed reporting schedules, technical specifications, and other resources to ensure the submission of accurate data in a standardized format within the specified
timeframes. Prior to adopting regulations and approving the reporting schedules, technical specifications, and other resources, the office shall engage relevant stakeholders, hold a public meeting to solicit input, and provide a response to input received.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 129. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.