Cal. HSC § 127501.6 — California Code / Code hsc / Division 107 / Part 2 / Chapter 2.6 / Article 2 / Section 127501.6
Section 127501.6
Status: in_force

(a) For data submitted to the office under paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 127501.4, the office shall prepare a report on baseline health care spending consistent with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) on or before June 1, 2025.

(b) (1) On or before June 1, 2027, the office shall prepare and publish its first annual report concerning health care spending trends and underlying factors, for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years, along with policy recommendations to control costs and improve quality performance and equity of the health care system, while maintaining access to care and high-quality jobs and workforce stability. The report shall be based on the office’s analysis of data and other information collected pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The annual report shall include all of the following:

(A) Total health care expenditures, per capita total health care expenditures, and, as appropriate, disaggregated data by categories such as service category, consumer out-of-pocket spending, and health care sector or geographic region, as specified in Section 127502.

(B) The state’s progress towards achieving the health care cost target and improving affordability for consumers and purchasers of health care, while improving quality, reducing health disparities, and maintaining access to care and high-quality jobs and workforce stability.

(C) Upon implementation of the Health Care Payments Data Program pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 127671), or the availability of an alternative source of health care spending data for payers and fully integrated delivery systems required to report to the office, drivers of overall cost and cost growth, including cost trends by health care sector, such as type of provider or service type. Alternative sources of data shall include, but not be limited to, data provided to existing multipayer claims databases or other state or federal agencies. Any analysis of cost trends in the pharmaceutical sector shall account for the effect of drug rebates and other price concessions in the aggregate, without disclosing any product- or manufacturer-specific rebate or price concession information, and without limiting or otherwise affecting the confidential or proprietary nature of any rebate or price concession agreement.

(D) Factors that contribute to cost growth within the state’s health care system.

(E) Access, quality, and equity of care measures and data, as available. Access includes timely access, language access, geographic access, and other measures of access reported through available data.

(F) Performance improvement plans required, administrative penalties imposed and assessed, and the amount returned to consumers and purchasers, if any.

(G) A summary of best practices for improving affordability while maintaining access, quality, and equity of care, as well as any concerns regarding impacts on the health care workforce stability and training needs of health care workers, as feasible.

(c) (1) Prior to and following the completion of the report on baseline health care spending, the office shall present the report’s findings to the board and the broader public at a public meeting of the board.

(2) On or before July 1, 2027, and at least 30 days after posting the annual report, and each year thereafter, the office shall present the annual report at a public meeting of the board to inform the board, policymakers, including the Governor and the Legislature, and the broader public about implementation of this chapter, including health care cost targets, cost trends, and actionable recommendations for mitigating cost growth.

(3) (A) The office shall seek comments on the findings of the annual report from health care entities, purchasers, consumer advocacy organizations, organizations representing employers who purchase health coverage, representatives of trust funds and other self-insured purchasers of health benefits, and experts on matters relevant to health care affordability, costs, quality, access, and equity of care, workforce stability, and administrative simplification. The office shall also solicit and collect comments from the public, submitted orally, electronically, or in writing, regarding the impacts of health care affordability efforts on health care workforce stability or training needs. All comments may be posted on the office’s internet website to the extent that they are in compliance with state guidelines for the appropriateness of communications.

(B) The office shall notify the relevant regulatory agency and the Attorney General if a health care entity is impacting health care workforce stability or quality jobs, lowering quality, or reducing access or equity of care.

(d) The annual report and the report on baseline health care spending shall be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature and shall be made available to the public on the office’s internet website, along with key data and statistics supporting its findings. The reports submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(e) The public meetings shall be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).