September 12, 2025 - This week, two bills sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) that will cut red tape around access to health care successfully passed both houses of the state legislature and will now head to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

Patients and physicians increasingly suffer the consequences of the cumbersome prior authorization process, which requires doctors to get approval from health plans before providing care to patients. Prior authorization requirements create administrative burdens that detract from patient care and cause treatment delays that have led to severe health outcomes, including hospitalization, life-threatening events and even death. Assembly Bill 512 and Senate Bill 306 aim to dramatically streamline the system, ensuring timely access to care for patients.

“On behalf of California’s physicians and patients, CMA applauds the Legislature for advancing thoughtful reforms that reduce bureaucratic red tape and put patients first,” said CMA President Shannon Udovic-Constant, M.D. “Together, AB 512 and SB 306 will help ensure that medical decisions are timely, data-driven, and rooted in clinical expertise – not paperwork or unnecessary delays. CMA thanks Assemblymember Harabedian and Senator Becker for their leadership in accelerating access to care.”

If signed into law by the Governor, AB 512, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian, will modernize prior authorization approvals by requiring that health plans adhere to the following shortened timelines:

• Electronic prior authorization requests would be answered within three business days for standard requests and 24 hours for urgent care.
• Non-electronic requests would be responded to within five business days for standard reviews and 48 hours for urgent requests.

SB 306, authored by Senator Josh Becker, removes redundant prior authorizations requirements for routine care and mandates new transparency measures through the following provisions:

• The California Department of Managed Health Care may waive prior authorization for services or prescriptions that insurers approve at least 90% of the time.
• Health plans will also be required to report prior authorization data, improving accountability and shedding light on approval trends.

In a show of broad support, SB 306 received 76 AYE votes and one NO vote in the Assembly and passed unanimously in the Senate, while AB 512 passed the Senate 30-0 and the Assembly 67-2. CMA credits physician-led grassroots advocacy as a key factor in this success. With both bills now on the Governor’s desk, CMA urges swift signing to create real change for patients facing harmful delays in care.

Source: California Medical Association