(a)A group or individual nongrandfathered health insurance policy shall, at a minimum, provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost-sharing requirements for any of the following:
(1)Evidence-based items or services that had in effect on January 1, 2025, a rating of “A” or “B” in the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force or
any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)Immunizations that had in effect on January 1, 2025, a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code wit
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(a)
A group or individual nongrandfathered health insurance policy shall, at a minimum, provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost-sharing requirements for any of the following:
(1)
Evidence-based items or services that had in effect on January 1, 2025, a rating of “A” or “B” in the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force or
any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)
Immunizations that had in effect on January 1, 2025, a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code with respect to the individual involved.
(3)
With respect to infants, children,
and adolescents, evidence-informed preventive care and screenings provided in the comprehensive guidelines, as periodically updated, supported by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration as of January 1, 2025, or any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code.
(4)
With respect to women, those additional preventive care and screenings not described in paragraph (1) as provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration
as of January 1, 2025, or any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code.
(5)
For the purposes of this section:
(A)
The recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force as of January 1, 2025, or any modification or supplement to that recommendation adopted pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code regarding breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention shall be considered the most current other than those issued in or around November 2009.
(B)
A health insurance
policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, shall not impose any cost-sharing requirements for any items or services that are integral to the provision of an item or service that is required by this section, regardless of whether or not the integral item or service is billed separately from an item or service that is required by this section.
(6)
For the purposes of this section, a health insurance policy shall not impose cost sharing for office visits associated with the preventive care services described in this section if the preventive care service is not billed separately, or is not tracked as an individual encounter separately, from the office visit and the primary purpose of the office visit is the delivery of the preventive
care service.
(b)
This section does not prohibit a health insurance policy from providing coverage for preventive items or services in addition to those required by subdivision (a).
(c)
A health insurer shall provide coverage pursuant to subdivision (a) for policy years that begin on or after the date that is one year after the date the recommendation or guideline is issued.
(1)
A health insurer that is required to provide coverage for any items and services specified in a recommendation or guideline described in subdivision (a) on the first day of a policy year shall provide coverage through the last day of the policy year, even if the recommendation or guideline changes or is no longer described in subdivision (a) during the policy year.
(2)
Notwithstanding paragraph
(1) and consistent with the authority granted to the State Department of Public Health pursuant to Section 120164 of the Health and Safety Code,
if any item or service associated with any recommendation or guideline specified in subdivision (a) is subject to a safety recall or is otherwise determined to pose a significant safety concern by a federal agency authorized to regulate the item or service during a policy year, a health insurer is not required to cover the item or service through the last day of the policy year.
(d)
A health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, shall cover items and services pursuant to this section in accordance with any applicable requirement of this part, including, but not limited to, Section 10123.18 on cervical cancer screening, Section 10123.1933 on prophylaxis of HIV infection, Section 10123.207 on colorectal cancer screening, and Section 10123.208 on home test kits for sexually transmitted diseases.
(e)
This section does not apply to
a specialized health insurance policy that does not cover an essential health benefit, as defined in Section 10112.27. This section shall only apply to a health savings account-eligible health insurance policy to the extent it does not fail to be treated as a high deductible health insurance policy under Section 223 of Title 26 of the United States Code.
(f)
The department shall coordinate with the Department of Managed Health Care if it adopts regulations to implement this section.
(g)
The commissioner may exercise the authority provided by this code and the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340), Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400), and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) to implement and enforce this section and all sections related to preventive services, including those
referenced herein. If the commissioner assesses a civil penalty for a violation, any hearing that is requested by the insurer may be conducted by an administrative law judge of the Administrative Hearing Bureau of the department under the formal procedure of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. A civil penalty shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation, or, if a violation was willful, shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation. This subdivision does not impair or restrict the commissioner’s authority pursuant to another provision of this code or the Administrative Procedure Act.