(a) A health care provider shall not charge a fee to a patient for filling out forms or providing information responsive to forms that support a claim or appeal regarding eligibility for a public benefit program.

(b) A health care provider shall provide information responsive to those portions of the form for which the health care provider has the information necessary to provide a medical opinion. If the health care provider does not have the information necessary to provide a medical opinion, the health care provider may inform the patient if an examination is necessary to obtain the information.

Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 123114

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Health care provider: means any of the following:

    California Health and Safety Code 123105

  • Patient: means a patient or former patient of a health care provider. See California Health and Safety Code 123105
  • representative: means any of the following:

    California Health and Safety Code 123105

(c) If a health care provider conducts an examination pursuant to subdivision (b), the health care provider shall provide information responsive to those portions of the form for which the health care provider has a medical opinion.

(d) For the purposes of this section, a public benefit program includes the Medi-Cal program, the In-Home Supportive Services Program, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSI/SSP) benefits, federal veterans service-connected compensation and nonservice connected pension disability benefits, discharge of a federal student loan based on total and permanent disability, CalFresh, the Cash Assistance Program for Aged, Blind, and Disabled Legal Immigrants, and a government-funded housing subsidy or tenant-based housing assistance program.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a health care provider may honor a request to disclose a patient record or complete a public benefit form that contains the written or electronic signature of the patient or the patient’s personal representative.

(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 101, Sec. 3. (AB 2520) Effective January 1, 2021.)

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