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Laws & Regulations

Program Statutes

Statutory authorization for the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) and its programs is primarily found in Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, §127000 et seq.

Division 107 is divided into parts that roughly correlate to the Offices within the Department. Some HCAI Offices administer more than one program. (Note that specific program statutes may be located in other areas of the Health and Safety Code, or in other Codes.)

  • Office of Health Care Affordability – Part 2, Chapter 2.6, commencing with §127500
  • CalRx Program—Part 2, Chapter 10, commencing with §127690
  • Office of Health Workforce Development– Part 3, commencing with §127750
  • Office of Information Services– Part 5, commencing with §128675
  • Office of Health Facility Loan Insurance – Part 6, commencing with §129000
  • Office of Statewide Hospital Planning and Development– Part 7, commencing with §129675

California Codes, including the Health and Safety Code, can be accessed through the Official California Legislative Information website. Select “California Law” and then “Health and Safety Code”.

Program Regulations

Most HCAI program regulations are found in Division 7 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), commencing with §90001.

Division 7 is divided into chapters – HCAI Offices may have regulations in more than one chapter.

  • Office of Health Workforce Development (Note that specific program regulations may be found in other parts of the CCR)
    • Chapter 6, commencing with §92001
    • Chapters 14 – 17, commencing with §97700.1
  • Office of Information Services
    • Chapter 9, commencing with §96040,
    • Chapter 9.5, commencing with §96060,
    • Chapter 10, commencing with §97003
  • Office of Health Facility Loan Insurance
    • Chapter 5, commencing with §91401

Office of Statewide Hospital Planning and Development adopts building standards that are found in Title 24.

The California Code of Regulations (except for Title 24) can be accessed through the Office of Administrative Law or directly through the California Code of Regulations.

Newly Adopted, Amended, or Repealed Regulations

Posted pursuant to Government Code Section 11343(c).

See the California Code of Regulations website to view a simple text version of the documents in this section.

Proposed Regulations

Hospital Fair Billing Program

HCAI’s Hospital Fair Billing Program regulation proposal was submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), and the public comment period began on Friday, June 16, 2023. The last day to submit comments was August 1, 2023. The proposed regulations are expected to be implemented in January 2024. Please see the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Additional rulemaking documents are linked below. For more information, visit the Hospital Fair Billing Program (HFBP) page.

HCAI’s Hospital Fair Billing Program revised text of the proposed regulations for the second comment period was made available to the public on Friday, August 18, 2023. The revisions are substantially related to the original proposed text and are being made available for public review and comment for a period of at least 15 days prior to adoption. All revisions are shown with a double underline for new language and a double strikethrough for deleted language. The last day to submit comments regarding the revised text of the proposed regulations is September 5, 2023. The proposed regulations are expected to be implemented in January 2024. Please see the Notice of Modification to Text of Proposed Regulation. The revised text of the proposed regulations is linked below.

    SNF Financial and Ownership Transparency

    HCAI’s SNF Financial and Ownership Transparency regulation proposal was published by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) in the California Regulatory Notice Register on July 21, 2023, which also marks the beginning of the public comment period. The last day to submit comments is September 5, 2023. The proposed regulations will be effective for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2023. Please see the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  Additional rulemaking documents are linked below.  For more information on long-term care financial reporting, visit the Cost Transparency: Long-Term Care Financials program page.

    On October 19, 2023, HCAI issued a Notice of Modification to Text of Proposed Rulemaking to the SNF Financial and Ownership Transparency proposed regulations. The revisions are substantially related to the original proposed text and are being made available for public review and comment for a period of at least 15 days prior to adoption. All revisions are shown with a double underline for new language and a double strikeout for deleted language. The last day to submit comments regarding the revised text of the proposed regulations is November 3, 2023. The proposed regulations will be effective for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2023. The revised text of the proposed regulations is linked below.

    Prescription Drug Pricing for Purchasers

    The proposed regulations are expected to be implemented in April 2024. Based on comments received during the initial public comment period, HCAI proposes two changes to the proposed regulations that are sufficiently related to the original text. HCAI is making available for public comment on the full text of the amended regulations for a period of 15 days ending at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, September 15, 2023.

    Please see the Notice of 15-day Public Comment Period. Additional rulemaking documents are linked below. For more information, visit the Cost Transparency: Prescription Drugs (CTRx) program page.

    Health Care Payments Database Program

    HCAI’s Health Care Payments Database Program regulation proposal was submitted to OAL, and the public comment period began on Friday, June 2, 2023. The last day to submit comments is July 18, 2023. The proposed regulations are expected to be implemented in October 2023. Please see the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Additional rulemaking documents are linked below. For more information, visit the Health Care Payments Database (HPD) program page.

    Health Care Affordability

    The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) has proposed emergency regulations to implement the Health Care Market Oversight Program (Cost and Market Impact Review). See below for Notice, Proposed Text, and the Finding of Emergency.

    The Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) is working on emergency regulations to implement Total Health Care Expenditures (THCE) Data Collection. Comments on the October drafts will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023 (see document).

      Conflict of Interest

      The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires certain officials and employees who serve in positions designated in an agency’s conflict of interest code to publicly disclose specified personal economic interests. Such economic interests are disclosed on the Form 700, Statement of Economic Interests. Pursuant to Government Code section 81008, Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests are public records and will be made available for public inspection.

      The HCAI Conflict of Interest Code identifies the positions that are subject to the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests filing requirements. It also specifies the types of economic interests required to be disclosed. For any questions contact the HCAI Filing Officer.

      View Conflict of Interest Code