BILL NUMBER: AB 2590 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 22, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Section 14132.31 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to Medi-Cal.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2590, as amended, Bonnie Lowenthal. Medi-Cal: disease
management programs: HIV/AIDS: disclosure of data:
information: contractors.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and
under which qualified low-income persons receive health care
services. Existing law requires the department to apply for a waiver
of federal law to test the efficacy of providing a disease management
benefit, as described, to specified beneficiaries under the Medi-Cal
program.
This bill would authorize the department to, in accordance with
federal law, provide to an entity that contracts with the state to
provide disease management services to persons with the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) all data certain information in
the department's possession that is necessary to identify and enroll
persons who are eligible for the disease management program ,
provided that the department possesses a signed informed consent
form, as described, from each person whose information is disclosed
. This bill would impose certain requirements on the
above-described contractors to protect the confidentiality of the
data provided to the contractor by the department.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14132.31 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
14132.31. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other
provision of state law, the department may, in accordance with
federal law, provide to an entity that contracts with the state to
provide disease management services to persons with the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) all data the following information
in the department's possession that is necessary to identify
and enroll persons who are eligible for the disease management
program . , provided that the department
possesses a signed informed consent form described in subdivision (d)
for each person whose information is disclosed pursuant to this
section:
(A) Contact information of Medi-Cal enrollees who are
eligible for the disease management program.
(B) The name and contact information of the Medi-Cal
enrollees' Medi-Cal-contracted health care providers.
(C) The number of visits by the Medi-Cal enrollees to each of
the Medi-Cal-contracted health care providers in the past 18 months.
(2) The information provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
not include treatment information, billing codes, or other
information that is unique to the patient and protected by the
confidential relationship between the provider and the patient.
(3) For purposes of this section, "health care provider"
shall include hospitals, pharmacies, and physicians.
(b) (1) The contractor described in subdivision (a) shall do all
of the following:
(A) Use only materials that are approved by the department for
outreach to potential enrollees in the disease management program.
(B) Implement and maintain procedures that are approved by the
department that guard against disclosure of confidential information
to unauthorized persons , including compliance with Section
120980 of the Health and Safety Code .
(C) Inform each enrollee in the disease management program of his
or her right to confidentiality and obtain the enrollee's consent
prior to release of confidential information, unless prior consent is
specifically not required.
(2) The contractor shall not disclose protected health information
supplied by the department to subcontractors for outreach and
enrollment purposes.
(3) (A) The contractor shall not use outreach activities to
potential enrollees or enrollees in its disease management program to
market other services that the contractor is authorized to provide.
(B) This paragraph shall not be construed to prohibit an enrollee
in the disease management program from using other services provided
by the contractor.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the
department to access the data reported and collected pursuant to
Section 121022 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) (1) A person with HIV or AIDS who enrolls or reenrolls in the
Medi-Cal program shall be offered an opportunity to provide his or
her informed consent to having the information described in
subdivision (a) shared with an entity that contracts with the state
to provide disease management services to persons with HIV or AIDS.
(2) (A) If the enrollee chooses to provide informed consent, he or
she shall provide that consent by signing an informed consent form.
(B) The informed consent form shall provide notice to the enrollee
of all of the following:
(i) Providing informed consent is voluntary.
(ii) The enrollee does not need to provide informed consent for
purposes of being eligible for any medical services or treatment,
including, but not limited to, services or treatment provided under
the Medi-Cal program.
(iii) The name of the entity that contracts with the state to
provide disease management services to persons with HIV or AIDS.
(iv) Only the information described in subdivision (a) shall be
shared with the entity identified pursuant to clause (iii).
(v) The methods that the entity identified pursuant to clause
(iii) may use to contact the enrollee.
(vi) Any contact of the enrollee by the entity identified pursuant
to clause (iii) shall occur within one year from the date the
enrollee signs the informed consent form.
(C) The informed consent form shall be written in a language in
which the enrollee is fluent.
(D) Any informed consent form shall be subject to approval by the
department.
(3) An enrollee may revoke his or her consent for release of
information at any time. Facilities that have informed consent forms
available for enrollees to sign shall also make revocation of
informed consent forms available to enrollees upon the request of the
enrollee.
(e) This section shall not apply to any disclosures made by the
department prior to the date this section becomes effective.