Health.

The Committee on Health guides a broad health policy package that, beyond routine technical corrections, centers on reorganizing behavioral health governance, expanding school‑based health initiatives, and tightening consumer-facing disclosures, all while preserving the state’s commitment to Medi‑Cal and hospital oversight. A key governance change reflects the updated naming of the behavioral health oversight body as the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, with the accompanying text clarifying that references should align to the renamed commission. The measure also contemplates a suite of programmatic changes touching schools, hospitals, insurers, and Medi‑Cal, and it embeds several sunset or operative provisions tied to prior voter reforms.

A centerpiece is a School Health Demonstration Project designed to broaden access to health and mental health services for public school pupils by strengthening school participation in Medi‑Cal programs. The program would provide five million dollars from the General Fund on a one‑time basis to establish the pilot, administered through Education and partner agencies, to support local educational agencies in pursuing the Local Educational Agency Medi‑Cal Billing Option Program, the School‑Based Medi‑Cal Administrative Activities Program, and contract arrangements with Medi‑Cal managed care plans and county mental health plans. Up to three technical assistance teams would be selected to work with up to 25 LEAs as pilot participants for two years, with up to one hundred thousand dollars per year per LEA. A final report due by early 2025 would cover best practices, service levels, funding outcomes, and recommendations for statewide expansion.

In the realm of health facilities, hospitals, and caregiving workforce, the measure makes several changes: hospitals would submit patient safety plans biennially, with a potential five‑thousand‑dollar fine for noncompliance and an automatic sixty‑day extension option; plans would be publicly posted; and the plan framework requires multidisciplinary review, root‑cause analyses, and analyses that capture sociodemographic disparities in patient safety events, including race, ethnicity, language, and payor. The nurse assistant training program would require at least two hours of the sixty classroom hours to address the needs of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, alongside existing requirements for developmental and mental health considerations; the department would publish a rolling, bilingual competency‑based training and testing framework, including a Spanish‑language competency examination by 2025 and a public list of approved training programs by 2029. The bill also clarifies baby food testing and labeling obligations, mandating monthly testing for toxic elements in final products, ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for laboratories, and public reporting of test results and product identifiers, with QR codes linking to test data and FDA guidance.

The measure extends CalAIM‑era reforms to Medi‑Cal and county programs, standardizing benefits and reinforcing integrated funding structures. It requires continued inclusion of certain long‑term and rehabilitative services as capitated Medi‑Cal benefits and directs payment and utilization controls for complex rehabilitation technology, supported by qualified professionals and a defined chain of responsibility from evaluation to delivery. It reshapes county planning and reporting for MHSA‑funded services, mandating three‑year program and expenditure plans, annual updates, prudent reserves, and post‑award oversight, with explicit reporting requirements and potential reversion provisions if funds remain unspent. Finally, the package elevates transparency through MHSA revenue and expenditure reporting, codifying uniform accounting standards and public posting, while preserving conditionality on fund flows consistent with the broader policy framework and the act’s sunset provisions tied to voter‑approved reforms.