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Committee advances AB 220 to standardize authorizations for subacute care and restrict managed-care plan criteria
Summary
AB 220 would require facilities providing subacute care to submit specified DHCS forms when seeking authorization and prohibit Medi‑Cal managed‑care plans from using their own criteria to determine medical necessity for subacute care. The committee recorded support from hospitals and children's providers and no formal opposition.
Assembly Bill 220: The Senate Committee on Health considered AB 220, which would require health facilities that provide subacute care services to submit Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) forms 6200 or 6200A when seeking authorization for subacute care services and would prohibit Medi‑Cal managed-care plans from developing or using their own differing criteria to substantiate medical necessity for that care.
Why it matters: Supporters, including hospital and specialty-care representatives, described the bill as a measure to streamline authorizations and ensure appropriate placement for patients—particularly children—so that acute hospital beds are used appropriately and patients are placed in the correct level of care.
Testimony and consensus: The author presented committee amendments and said they had been accepted. Witnesses included representatives of the District Hospital Leadership Forum, the California Medical Association and the California Hospital Association who voiced support; testimony from the Children’s Specialty Care Coalition was also registered in support. The committee recorded no formal opposition during the hearing.
Committee action and status: The author asked for an aye vote after accepting amendments. The committee moved the measure and passed it as amended, referring it to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The roll-call recorded in the hearing was 11 ayes, 0 noes.
Next steps: AB 220 will proceed to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
