CA AB2659

Requires Medi-Cal managed care plans to maintain at least one licensed midwife and one certified-nurse midwife in their provider network within each county where they serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

Requires plans to include at least one licensed alternative birth center specialty clinic in their network within each county if such a clinic is available and willing to contract.

Exempts plans from these requirements if no licensed midwives or certified-nurse midwives are available in a county or if none accept Medi-Cal payments; exempt plans must reevaluate network adequacy annually and make good faith efforts to recruit midwives.

Requires plans to reimburse out-of-network midwives at Medi-Cal fee-for-service rates if in-network providers are unavailable and allows direct access to midwives without requiring physician referrals.

Implementation is conditioned on receipt of necessary federal approvals and availability of federal financial participation.