Bill Commons

CA AB 2538

Status unknown

Medi-Cal: hospice providers: forms.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

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Quick answers

Did CA AB 2538 pass?

The current status of CA AB 2538 is not known from the official record. Latest recorded action (2026-08-17): In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

What is CA AB 2538 about?

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 through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for the licensure of hospice agencies by the State Department of Public Health to provide hospice services to an individual who is experiencing the last phase of life due to a terminal illness, as defined. Under existing law, hospice services are covered under the Medi-Cal program, subject to utilization controls and the availability of federal financial participation, as specified. The State Department of Health Care Services administratively requires, effective March 2, 2026, a hospice provider to use a certain online attestation form to notify the department when a Medi-Cal fee-for-service member has elected to receive hospice services, as specified. This bill would codify and recast those departmental procedures relating to the online form. The bill would require the hospice provider to submit the online form within 5 calendar days after the member's election to receive hospice services, and to submit the form in conjunction with counseling, receipt of informed consent, and completion of a separate election notice form, as specified. The bill would make these provisions applicable only to the Medi-Cal fee-for-service delivery system. In the case of Medi-Cal managed care, the bill would require a hospice provider to instead follow its assigned Medi-Cal managed care plan's submission requirements, as specified.

Who sponsors CA AB 2538?

Macedo is the primary sponsor of CA AB 2538, joined by 1 cosponsor.

Description

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 through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for the licensure of hospice agencies by the State Department of Public Health to provide hospice services to an individual who is experiencing the last phase of life due to a terminal illness, as defined. Under existing law, hospice services are covered under the Medi-Cal program, subject to utilization controls and the availability of federal financial participation, as specified. The State Department of Health Care Services administratively requires, effective March 2, 2026, a hospice provider to use a certain online attestation form to notify the department when a Medi-Cal fee-for-service member has elected to receive hospice services, as specified. This bill would codify and recast those departmental procedures relating to the online form. The bill would require the hospice provider to submit the online form within 5 calendar days after the member's election to receive hospice services, and to submit the form in conjunction with counseling, receipt of informed consent, and completion of a separate election notice form, as specified. The bill would make these provisions applicable only to the Medi-Cal fee-for-service delivery system. In the case of Medi-Cal managed care, the bill would require a hospice provider to instead follow its assigned Medi-Cal managed care plan's submission requirements, as specified.

Introduced
2026-03-16
Latest action
2026-08-17 — In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Macedoauthor
  • Grovecoauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-08-17

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.).

  2. 2026-08-17

    In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  3. 2026-08-17

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 5497.).

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  4. 2026-08-04

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  5. 2026-08-03

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

    committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  6. 2026-06-29

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  7. 2026-06-25

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 24).

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee

  8. 2026-06-10

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  9. 2026-05-27

    Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

    referral-committee

  10. 2026-05-14

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1,referral-committee

  11. 2026-05-14

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 5056.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  12. 2026-05-07

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

    reading-1,reading-2

  13. 2026-05-06

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 6).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  14. 2026-04-22

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  15. 2026-03-17

    Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

    referral-committee

  16. 2026-03-16

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  17. 2026-03-16

    Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

    referral-committee

  18. 2026-02-21

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

  19. 2026-02-20

    Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

Versions

  • 02/20/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-20Compare
  • 03/16/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-03-16Compare
  • 06/29/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-06-29Compare
  • AB2538Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-04-21 · pass · 16-0

    Member-level votes (16)
    • Rogers: yes
    • Sanchez: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Johnson: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Chen: yes
    • Bonta: yes
  • Do pass. To Consent Calendar.

    2026-05-06 · pass · 14-0

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Arambula: other
  • AB 2538 Macedo Consent Calendar Second Day

    2026-05-14 · pass · 77-0

    Member-level votes (80)
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Chen: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Johnson: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Sanchez: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • DeMaio: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Bains: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Rivas: yes
    • Gallagher: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Ellis: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Castillo: yes
    • Hadwick: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Arambula: other
    • Celeste Rodriguez: other
    • Flora: other
  • Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-06-24 · pass · 11-0

    Member-level votes (11)
    • Pérez: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Valladares: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Menjivar: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-15T14:31:53.535303Z

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