(a) A health care service plan that provides coverage for professional mental health services, including a specialized health care service plan that provides coverage for professional mental health services, shall, pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 1368.015, include on its Internet Web site, or provide a link to, the following information:

(1) A telephone number that the enrollee or provider can call, during normal business hours, for assistance obtaining mental health benefits coverage information, including the extent to which benefits have been exhausted, in-network provider access information, and claims processing information.

(2) A link to prescription drug formularies posted pursuant to Section 1367.205, or instructions on how to obtain the formulary, as described in Section 1367.20.

(3) A detailed summary that describes the process by which the plan reviews and authorizes or approves, modifies, or denies requests for health care services as described in Sections 1363.5 and 1367.01.

(4) Lists of providers or instructions on how to obtain the provider list, as required by Section 1367.27.

(5) A detailed summary of the enrollee grievance process as described in Sections 1368 and 1368.015.

(6) A detailed description of how an enrollee may request continuity of care pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 1373.95.

(7) Information concerning the right, and applicable procedure, of an enrollee to request an independent medical review pursuant to Section 1374.30.

(b) Any modified material described in subdivision (a) shall be updated at least quarterly.

(c) The information described in subdivision (a) may be made available through a secured Internet Web site that is only accessible to enrollees.

(d) The material described in subdivision (a) shall also be made available to enrollees in hard copy upon request.

(e) This article does not preclude a health care service plan from including additional information on its Internet Web site for applicants, enrollees or subscribers, or providers, including, but not limited to, the cost of procedures or services by health care providers in a plan’s network.

(f) The department shall include on the department’s Internet Web site a link to the Internet Web site of each health care service plan and specialized health care service plan described in subdivision (a).

(g) This section shall not apply to Medicare supplement insurance, employee assistance programs, CHAMPUS supplement insurance, or TRI-CARE supplement insurance, or to hospital indemnity, accident-only, and specified disease insurance. This section shall also not apply to specialized health care service plans, except behavioral health-only plans.

(h) This section shall not apply to a health care service plan that contracts with a specialized health care service plan, insurer, or other entity to cover professional mental health services for its enrollees, provided that the health care service plan provides a link on its Internet Web site to an Internet Web site operated by the specialized health care service plan, insurer, or other entity with which it contracts, and that plan, insurer, or other entity complies with this section or Section 10123.199 of the Insurance Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 687, Sec. 2. (SB 910) Effective January 1, 2019.)