Senate Health Committee weighs a package of bills on directories, access to addiction care, prior authorization and local health systems

The Senate Committee on Health heard extended presentations and public testimony on a series of health-related bills addressing consumer access, local system oversight, workforce data, addiction treatment continuity, prior authorization timelines, wildfire-related behavioral-health access and investments in youth and community violence prevention.

AB 280 — a bill to improve the accuracy of health plan provider directories — drew sustained testimony from the bill’s sponsor, consumer advocates and mental-health providers who described “ghost” listings that leave patients unable to find in-network care. The proposal would set escalating accuracy benchmarks culminating at 95% by 2029, require timelines for providers to respond to plan information requests, allow plans to flag unverified listings for consumers, and give the Department of Managed Health Care authority to require use of a central utility database and to impose penalties for noncompliance. Supporters including Katie Van Dynes of Health Access California and Sarah Sorokin, a licensed clinical social worker, said inaccurate directories delay or block care; plan representatives and provider groups urged further conversations about implementation, reimbursement and the new central-utility role.

AB 356 would create a state-level working group within the Department of Health Care Access and Information to evaluate public health infrastructure in North San Diego County, with a particular focus on the long-term sustainability of the Palomar Health Care District.…