Assembly BillPassed first houseHealth and Safety
AB 536: Health care coverage: colorectal cancer screening.
What AB 536 does, verified December 13, 2025
This bill aims to expand health care coverage in California. It requires health care service plans and insurance policies to provide coverage for colorectal cancer screening tests and related colonoscopies without cost sharing. The screening tests must be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and meet specific federal guidelines or be included in the American Cancer Society's guidelines. This expansion applies to contracts or policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2025-05-05)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions16 total · showing 5
| Aug. 29, 2025 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Jul. 14, 2025 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 26, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 1.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 11, 2025 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| May. 14, 2025 | Referred to Com. on HEALTH. |
Latest bill textAmended version, March 24, 2025 · 764 words
| Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 536
| Introduced by Assembly Member Patterson |
February 11, 2025 |
An act to amend Section 1367.668 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 10123.207 of the Insurance Code, relating to health care coverage.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 536, as amended, Patterson. Health care coverage: colorectal cancer screening.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law generally requires a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, to provide coverage without cost sharing for a colorectal cancer screening test assigned either a grade of A or a grade of B by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and for a required colonoscopy for a positive result on a test with those grades.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
This bill would additionally require that coverage if the screening test is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and either meets requirements for coverage established by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as specified, or is included in the most recently published guidelines from the American Cancer Society.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 1367.668 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:1367.668.
(a) Every health care service plan contract, except a specialized health care service plan contract, that is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, shall provide coverage without cost sharing for a colorectal cancer screening test(1) Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meets the requirements for coverage established by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Coverage Determination 210.3.
(2) Approved by the FDA and included in the most recently published guidelines from the American Cancer Society.
(3) Assigned either a grade of A or a grade of B by the United States Preventive Services Task Force.
(b) The required colonoscopy for a positive result on a test or procedure, other than a colonoscopy, that is a colorectal cancer screening examination or laboratory test identified assigned either a grade of A or a grade of B by the United States Preventive Services Task Force that meets any of the conditions described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall also be provided without cost sharing.
(b)
(c) This section does not preclude a health care service plan that has coverage for out-of-network benefits from imposing cost-sharing requirements for the items or services described in this section that are delivered by an out-of-network provider.
SEC. 2.
Section 10123.207 of the Insurance Code is amended to read:10123.207.
(a) Every health insurance policy, except a specialized health insurance policy, that is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, shall provide coverage without cost sharing for a colorectal cancer screening test(1) Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meets the requirements for coverage established by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Coverage Determination 210.3.
(2) Approved by the FDA and included in the most recently published guidelines from the American Cancer Society.
(3) Assigned either a grade of A or a grade of B by the United States Preventive Services Task Force.
(b) The required colonoscopy for a positive result on a test or procedure, other than a colonoscopy, that is a colorectal cancer screening examination or laboratory test identified assigned either a grade of A or a grade of B by the United States Preventive Services Task Force that meets any of the conditions described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall also be provided without cost sharing.
(b)
(c) This section does not preclude a health insurer that has a network of providers from imposing cost-sharing requirements for the items or services described in this section that are delivered by an out-of-network provider.
Text of AB 536 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions