SB 339: Medi-Cal: laboratory rates.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

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 prohibits Medi-Cal reimbursement to providers for clinical laboratory or laboratory services from exceeding the lowest of the following: (1) the amount billed; (2) the charge to the general public; (3) 100% of the lowest maximum allowance established by the federal Medicare Program; or (4) a reimbursement rate based on an average of the lowest amount that other payers and other state Medicaid programs are paying.

This bill would instead require the above-described Medi-Cal reimbursement to equal the lowest of those metrics. The bill would carve out, from the above-described provision, for dates of service on or after July 1, 2027, or when funding is appropriated to implement this provision, whichever is sooner, Medi-Cal reimbursement to providers for clinical laboratory or laboratory services related to the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and would apply that threshold but excluding the reimbursement rate described in clause (4) above.

The bill would exempt data on those services related to the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections from certain data-reporting requirements that are applicable to the reimbursement rate described in clause (4), for dates of service on or after January 1, 2027, or when funding is appropriated to implement the above-described provision, whichever is sooner.

Under existing law, data reports provided to the department pursuant to those data-reporting requirements are confidential and exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act.

This bill would require the department to make available to the public a dataset, as specified, of the deidentified raw data reported pursuant to the above-described data-reporting requirements by any applicable laboratory service providers that reported a volume greater than 10 tests for the data-collection period. The bill would require the department to publish the associated dataset coincident with publishing updated reimbursement rates.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. February 2, 2026Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
2. May 23, 2025May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
3. May 16, 2025Set for hearing May 23.
4. May 12, 2025May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
5. May 2, 2025Set for hearing May 12.
6. April 30, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 939.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
7. April 24, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 868.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
8. April 10, 2025Set for hearing April 29 in JUD. pending receipt.
9. April 9, 2025From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
10. April 8, 2025Set for hearing April 23.
11. April 2, 2025April 2 hearing postponed by committee.
12. March 17, 2025Set for hearing April 2.