Confidential communication of medical information

As a reminder, Assembly Bill 1184 (AB), confidential communication of medical information codified in Civil Code §§ 56.05, 56.35 and 56.107, requires health plans, on or after July 1, 2022, to protect the confidentiality of a subscriber or enrollee’s medical information, to not require a protected individual to obtain the primary subscriber or other enrollee’s authorization to receive sensitive services or submit a claim for sensitive services if the protected individual has the right to consent to care. 

AB 1184 also requires plans to direct certain communications regarding a protected individual’s receipt of sensitive services directly to the protected individual receiving care and requires plans to notify subscribers and enrollees that they may request a confidential communication in the following methods:

• Upon initial enrollment and annually thereafter upon renewal
• In the explanation of coverage (EOC)
• On the plan’s website 

The law also prohibits plans from disclosing medical information relating to sensitive health services provided to a protected individual to the primary subscriber or any plan enrollees other than the protected individual receiving care, absent express written authorization from the protected individual receiving care.