Health data: HIV test results.

Healthcare

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Cabaldon
Last action: 2025-10-13
Official status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 748, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of this law is not specified in the provided official source material.

Health Data: HIV Test Results

This law allows healthcare providers to share HIV test results, including personal information, with Medi-Cal managed care plans and quality review organizations for improving patient care.

What This Bill Does

Allows healthcare providers to disclose HIV test results that identify or provide identifying characteristics of a Medi-Cal beneficiary without written authorization from the test subject or their representative to the Medi-Cal managed care plan to which the beneficiary is assigned, if applicable.
Permits disclosure of these results to external quality review organizations conducting reviews of Medi-Cal managed care plans for administering quality improvement programs designed to improve HIV care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
Also allows non-personally identifiable HIV test results to be shared with departmental staff for improving patient care programs.

Who It Names or Affects

Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have had an HIV test.
Healthcare providers, Medi-Cal managed care plans, and external quality review organizations.

Terms To Know

Medi-Cal: A health insurance program for low-income people in California funded by both state and federal governments.
HIV test results: The outcome of a medical test that checks if someone has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify when this law will start to be used.
Only applies to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and does not cover other insurance plans or uninsured individuals.

Bill History

2025-10-13 California Legislative Information
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 748, Statutes of 2025.
2025-10-13 California Legislative Information
Approved by the Governor.
2025-09-16 California Legislative Information
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
2025-09-09 California Legislative Information
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2711.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
2025-09-08 California Legislative Information
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-09-08 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2999.) Ordered to the Senate.
2025-09-03 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-09-02 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
2025-08-29 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 29).
2025-08-20 California Legislative Information
August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-07-17 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-07-17 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 16).
2025-07-17 California Legislative Information
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 49. Noes 15. Page 2578.)
2025-06-19 California Legislative Information
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
2025-06-17 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
2025-06-05 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and P. & C.P.
2025-05-29 California Legislative Information
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
2025-05-29 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1324.) Ordered to the Assembly.
2025-05-27 California Legislative Information
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-05-23 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-05-23 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1194.) (May 23).
2025-05-16 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-04-21 California Legislative Information
April 21 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-04-10 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 21.
2025-04-09 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 706.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2025-04-01 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 8.
2025-03-28 California Legislative Information
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
2025-03-26 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 566.) (March 26). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
2025-03-17 California Legislative Information
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
2025-03-17 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing March 26.
2025-02-14 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.
2025-02-05 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 7.
2025-02-04 California Legislative Information
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 278, Cabaldon.
Health data: HIV test results.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions.
Existing law generally imposes penalties on a person who negligently, willfully, or maliciously discloses the results of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test to a third party in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person to whom the test results apply, as specified.
Existing law, notwithstanding the above-described restrictions, authorizes the recording of the HIV test results by the physician who ordered the test in the test subject’s medical record and authorizes other
disclosure of the results without written authorization of the test subject, or the subject’s representative, to the test subject’s providers of health care, excluding a regulated health care service plan, for purposes of diagnosis, care, or treatment of the patient.
This bill would authorize a provider of health care to disclose the results of an HIV test that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of a Medi-Cal beneficiary without written authorization of the test subject, or the subject’s representative, to the Medi-Cal managed care plan to which the beneficiary is assigned, if applicable, and to external quality review organizations conducting external quality
reviews of Medi-Cal managed care plans, for the purpose of administering quality improvement programs, including, but not limited to, value-based payment programs and healthy behavior incentive programs, designed to improve HIV care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
Under the bill, HIV test results that do not identify or provide identifying characteristics of the test subjects would be authorized for disclosure without written authorization by the Medi-Cal managed care plan to departmental staff for the above-described purpose.
The bill would make certain clarifying or declaratory statements with regard to related
provisions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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