California requires added electronic notices when health plan provider contracts terminate
Sep 20, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0109 · Published 2026-09-20 · Version 2 · Final
AB 2613 adds opt-in electronic delivery to affected health-plan contract-termination and restoration notices.
What happened
Chapter 306, signed September 18, adds electronic delivery alongside mailed notices for specified health-plan provider-group and general acute care hospital contract terminations. Plans must file the proposed enrollee notice with DMHC at least 75 days before termination and generally notify affected enrollees at least 60 days before. Text or email delivery applies when the enrollee opted into electronic communications and supplied the required contact information. The statute retains affected-population and geographic rules, a qualified exigent-circumstances waiver process, and a hospital-only termination-notice limit for PPO enrollees.
If the parties restore or renew a contract, the notice distinguishes an agreement reached before termination, preserving assignment, from one reached after termination, offering the option to return. Plans must submit the restoration notice within five business days of agreement and send it within 10 business days after DMHC approval, using mail plus qualifying electronic delivery. The 2025–2026 amendments do not apply to specified Medi-Cal managed-care contracts with DHCS. Ordinary commencement is January 1, 2027; September enactment does not itself establish that a particular termination or restoration has occurred.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Directly applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
- Recorded date
- 2027-01-01
- Date type
- effective
Why it matters
Plans need recipient preferences and event timing linked to notice workflows, with restoration handled differently before and after termination.
Recommended action
Prepare notice controls for the enacted changes before commencement, verify applicable enrollee and contract scope, and test mailed/electronic delivery and DMHC approval timing without assuming opt-in for every member.
Sources
- AB 2613, chaptered bill text and historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-18 · Source review 2026-09-20
- Official retained source documentOfficial · Official issuing agency · Source review 2026-10-16
- Official retained source documentOfficial · Official issuing agency · Source review 2026-10-16
- Official retained source documentOfficial · Official issuing agency · Source review 2026-10-16
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