Bill
AB 618
AB 618 requires Medi‑Cal managed care plans, county mental health plans, and Drug Medi‑Cal programs to electronically share member data for coordinated behavioral health care, with
Note on bill identity
- The bill header provided names AB 618 as a tax incentive measure for nuclear energy facilities, but all legislative text and committee documents supplied refer to a different AB 618 (authored by Krell) that establishes Medi‑Cal behavioral health data‑sharing requirements. This summary covers the substantive bill text and committee actions in the provided documents (Medi‑Cal behavioral health data sharing).
Bill at a glance
- Bill number: AB 618 (Krell)
- Subject: Medi‑Cal behavioral health data sharing — electronic exchange of member data among Medi‑Cal managed care plans, county specialty mental health plans, Drug Medi‑Cal certified programs, and Drug Medi‑Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC‑ODS) programs.
- Status (from documents): Passed Assembly; referred to Senate committees (Health; Appropriations - suspense); fiscal estimate received; held under submission (as of 2025-08-29).
Purpose / intent
- To improve treatment and care coordination for Medi‑Cal beneficiaries receiving behavioral health services (specialty mental health and substance use disorder treatment) and to further the goals of CalAIM and the Behavioral Health Services Act by requiring timely, standardized electronic data sharing among relevant Medi‑Cal entities.
Key provisions
- New statute: Welfare and Institutions Code § 14021.36 (added).
- Data sharing requirement: Effective 180 days after issuance of implementing guidance, each Medi‑Cal managed care plan, county specialty mental health plan, Drug‑Medi‑Cal certified program, and DMC‑ODS program must electronically provide data for their members to support member care.
- Guidance development:
- DHCS shall consult with representatives of the affected plans/programs and the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) to develop implementing guidance.
- Consultation deadline: begin by March 1, 2026.
- Final guidance publication: January 1, 2027.
- Guidance must specify minimum data elements, frequency, format, and requirements for timely health information exchange, aligned with CHHS’s Data Exchange Framework.
- Implementation mechanisms: DHCS may issue all‑county letters, plan letters, provider bulletins, or similar directives to operationalize the statute.
- Privacy and confidentiality: The statute and guidance must not undermine federal privacy laws (HIPAA, 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 & 164) or 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (confidentiality of SUD records). Guidance must also adhere to state privacy rules (including Section 14197.71 references).
Who is affected
- Primary: Medi‑Cal managed care plans; county specialty mental health plans; Drug‑Medi‑Cal certified programs; DMC‑ODS programs; and the State Department of Health Care Services and CHHS (for guidance and oversight).
- Secondary: Medi‑Cal beneficiaries receiving behavioral health services, providers involved in behavioral health care coordination, counties, and health information exchange entities/vendors that will support electronic data exchange.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Consultation: by March 1, 2026.
- Final guidance: January 1, 2027.
- Statutory requirement becomes effective 180 days after guidance issuance.
- Fiscal committee review required (documents indicate fiscal committee referral and a fiscal estimate has been received), but bill contains "Appropriation: NO" in digest.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Expected benefits: improved care coordination, more timely information availability across behavioral health and managed care programs, better integration with CalAIM initiatives.
- Operational impacts: plans and county programs will likely need technical/information‑exchange upgrades, vendor coordination, and process changes; compliance and implementation costs may arise though no appropriation is attached in the digest.
- Privacy compliance: guidance must carefully reconcile HIPAA, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, and state privacy rules; balancing data access for care coordination with confidentiality protections for SUD and mental health records will be central.
If you want, I can:
- Draft a one‑page explainer for stakeholders (counties, plans, providers) summarizing implementation steps and deadlines, or
- Extract and list the explicit responsibilities DHCS will have when producing guidance.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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