Health facilities: cardiac surgery.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Stan Ellis and 6 co-sponsors

California must update its regulation on the required surgical team size for cardiac procedures with extracorporeal bypass to reflect current professional standards by Jan 1, 2030.

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

#healthfacilities #cardiacsurgery

AB 1868 (2025-2026) — Health facilities: cardiac surgery

Purpose and intent

Establishes a deadline for updating California regulatory standards related to extracorporeal bypass surgery in cardiac procedures performed at general acute care hospitals.

Specifically requires the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to align its regulation with current professional standards of care for extracorporeal bypass.

Key provisions

New statutory requirement: Add Health and Safety Code Section 1255.4.

Deadline: On or before January 1, 2030, CDPH must update Section 70435(b)(2) of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations to reflect current professional standards of care relating to extracorporeal bypass surgery.

The regulation being updated is the regulation that governs the composition of the surgical team for cardiovascular operative services when extracorporeal bypass is involved (currently requiring a minimum of 3 surgeons for procedures that require extracorporeal bypass).

Affected entities and stakeholders

General acute care hospitals in California that are approved to provide cardiovascular operative services, including cardiac surgery.

CDPH, which administers licensure and regulation of health facilities.

Medical professionals and surgical teams performing cardiac surgery with extracorporeal bypass.

Hospital patients undergoing cardiac surgery that involves extracorporeal bypass.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Legislative action history indicates passage through committees and both houses during the 2025-2026 session, with a path toward the Senate and final enactment.

The central procedural timeline is the mandatory regulatory update by January 1, 2030. Until then, existing regulations remain in effect.

Additional context

The bill text clarifies that the mandate is to reflect current professional standards of care, implying updates could address team composition, training, credentialing, or other standards relevant to extracorporeal bypass but does not specify exact numerical changes beyond requiring update.

No new funding appropriation is attached to the bill (no fiscal committee appropriation noted).

Summary in plain terms

AB 1868 requires California’s health department to review and revise the regulatory standard for how many surgeons must constitute the surgical team when a cardiac surgery procedure uses extracorporeal bypass. By January 1, 2030, the department must update the regulation to reflect current professional standards of care. The change could affect hospital staffing requirements for cardiac surgeries that involve bypass machines, ensuring practices stay current with medical standards.