AB 1400 Summary

• Creates CalCare, a comprehensive universal single-payer health care program providing coverage to all California residents without premiums, copayments, deductibles, or cost-sharing for covered benefits.

• Establishes a 9-member CalCare Board appointed by the Governor, Senate, and Assembly to govern the program, negotiate provider payments, establish drug formularies, and administer a continuously appropriated CalCare Trust Fund.

• Requires the board to conduct a fiscal analysis by July 1, 2024 determining whether CalCare can be implemented and if revenue will likely pay program costs within eight years, with implementation requiring separate legislative approval.

• Incorporates health benefits from Medicare, Medi-Cal, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and other federal programs; authorizes the board to seek federal waivers to redirect those programs' funding to CalCare.

• Prohibits providers from billing patients for covered benefits, requires participation agreements with providers, establishes global budgets for institutional providers, and sets fee-for-service rates based on Medicare payment systems; allows health care providers to collectively negotiate rates through a third-party representative.