(a) The director shall establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number for the purpose of receiving complaints regarding health care service plans regulated by the director.

(b) Every health care service plan shall publish the department’s toll-free telephone number, the department’s TDD line for the hearing and speech impaired, the plan’s telephone number, and the department’s internet website address, on every plan contract, on every evidence of coverage, on copies of plan grievance procedures, on plan complaint forms, and on all written notices to enrollees required under the grievance process of the plan, including any written communications to an enrollee that offer the enrollee the opportunity to participate in the grievance process of the plan and on all written responses to grievances. The department’s telephone number, the department’s TDD line, the plan’s telephone number, and the department’s internet website address shall be displayed by the plan in each of these documents in 12-point boldface type in the following regular type statement:

“The California Department of Managed Health Care is responsible for regulating health care service plans. If you have a grievance against your health plan, you should first telephone your health plan at (insert health plan’s telephone number) and use your health plan’s grievance process before contacting the department. Utilizing this grievance procedure does not prohibit any potential legal rights or remedies that may be available to you. If you need help with a grievance involving an emergency, a grievance that has not been satisfactorily resolved by your health plan, or a grievance that has remained unresolved for more than 30 days, you may call the department for assistance. You may also be eligible for an Independent Medical Review (IMR). If you are eligible for IMR, the IMR process will provide an impartial review of medical decisions made by a health plan related to the medical necessity of a proposed service or treatment, coverage decisions for treatments that are experimental or investigational in nature and payment disputes for emergency or urgent medical services. The department also has a toll-free telephone number (1-888-466-2219) and a TDD line (1-877-688-9891) for the hearing and speech impaired. The department’s internet website www.dmhc.ca.gov has complaint forms, IMR application forms and instructions online.”

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 113, Sec. 3. (AB 1802) Effective January 1, 2020.)