California requires added electronic notices when health plan provider contracts terminate
Sep 27, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0109 · Published 2026-09-27 · Version 2 · Final
AB 2613 adds opted-in electronic provider-termination notices alongside mail and sets separate notice clocks when a contract is restored.
What happened
California enacted AB 2613 on September 18, adding electronic delivery to health-plan notices about specified provider-group and general acute care hospital contract terminations. From January 1, 2027, email or text supplements mailed notice when the enrollee opted into electronic delivery and supplied the relevant contact information. The section retains the plan’s block-transfer filing at least 75 days before termination, department approval before notice, and the ordinary notice requirement at least 60 days before termination. The affected population depends on provider assignment, hospital use and the section’s geographic and plan-type rules.
A renewed or restored contract triggers a separate sequence after the first notice. The plan submits the follow-up notice to DMHC within five business days of reaching agreement and sends mail plus the qualifying electronic notice within ten business days after approval. An agreement before termination tells affected enrollees they remain assigned; an agreement after termination offers a return to the provider. The text preserves continuity-of-care language, limits PPO notices under the stated rule to a terminating general acute care hospital, and allows specified exigent-circumstance waivers. The 2025–2026 amendments exclude Medi-Cal managed care contracts with DHCS.
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
Member preferences, provider relationships and regulator approval must remain connected so each affected enrollee receives the appropriate notice on the correct clock.
Recommended action
Prepare the January 1, 2027 workflow: validate affected populations and opt-in data, distinguish initial and restored-contract notices, assign DMHC submission and approval tracking, and retain evidence of mail and electronic delivery.
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
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