State Advocacy

The California Legislature convened on January 5, 2026. The deadline for introducing bills was February 20, 2026. Below are bills that CAPH has taken a position on during this legislative session. 

Support

AB 539 (Schiavo) – Health care coverage: prior authorizations
Requires prior authorizations for health care services to remain valid for at least one year or the duration of treatment, preventing rescission or modification after services are rendered. This is a two-year proposal from 2025. CAPH is in support.

AB 1923 (Soria) – Distressed Hospital Loan Program
Expands California’s Distressed Hospital Loan Program to provide additional financial support to hospitals experiencing significant financial distress and preserve access to essential health care services. CAPH is in support.

AB 2201 (Boerner) – Medi-Cal –  Redetermination Eligibility
Updates California’s Medi-Cal eligibility redetermination process to require semiannual reviews for Medicaid expansion adults, streamlines verification procedures, and ensures compliance with new federal Medicaid rules while providing for local agency reimbursement and beneficiary protections. CAPH is in support of this measure in coalition with county affiliates.

SB 895 (Wiener) – California Science and Research Bond 
Creates a state-funded foundation to support scientific and health research in California through $23 billion in bonds, with oversight, transparency, and accountability measures, and is contingent on voter approval. CAPH is in support.

SB 1422 (Durazo) –  Medi-Cal: eligibility: immigration status
Expands full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to all adults regardless of immigration status, with certain limitations and premium requirements, thereby increasing healthcare access for undocumented individuals in California. CAPH is in support.

Oppose

AB 1337 (Ward) – Information Practices Act of 1977
Expands California’s Information Practices Act by extending privacy protections and applies strict requirements to local agencies. Concerns about conflicts with existing privacy protections for medical providers and challenges with sharing patient data for continuity of care were raised by public hospital systems. This is a two-year proposal from 2025. CAPH is opposed.

AB 1582 (Ortega) – Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act: collective bargaining: unfair labor practices
Expands unfair labor practice provisions under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act. CAPH is opposed due to concerns that the measure could limit operational flexibility at University of California medical centers and affect their ability to respond to staffing shortages, patient surges and other care delivery needs. CAPH is opposed.

AB 1922 (Lowenthal) – Restrain of incarcerated patients
Restricts the use of mechanical restraints on incarcerated adults and juveniles admitted to hospitals for advanced medical care, allowing exceptions only for imminent physical threats or escape attempts. Serious provider and patient safety concerns were raised by public hospital systems. CAPH is opposed.

SB 632 (Arreguin) – Workers’ compensation: hospital employees
Defines specific injuries as work-related and establishes presumptions for compensation. The lack of guardrails on presumptions for workers’ compensation related injuries is of concern. This is a two-year proposal from 2025. CAPH is opposed in coalition with other providers.