California Assembly Bill AB425

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/18/25
• Report Pass: 4/23/25
• Refer: 4/28/25
• Refer: 5/14/25
• Failed: 2/2/26

Caption

An act to add Section 11832.26 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

Summary

AB 425 would require the California Department of Health Care Services to apply the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) treatment criteria, or an equivalent evidence-based standard, as the minimum standard of care for alcohol and other drug programs certified by the state. The bill also requires certified programs to maintain those standards in the level of care they provide, aligning certified programs more closely with the standards already used for licensed adult alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facilities. The bill is framed as a public health and substance use disorder recovery measure. Its findings emphasize the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) and the Legislature’s intent that all state-certified substance use disorder programs meet or exceed ASAM standards and evidence-based practices. The department would be allowed to issue plan or provider bulletins or similar guidance while regulations are being developed, and it would have to adopt implementing regulations by January 1, 2027.

Impact

AB 425 would add Section 11832.26 to the Health and Safety Code and expand the Department of Health Care Services’ certification standards for alcohol and other drug programs. In practice, it would make ASAM-based, evidence-based care a statutory baseline for certified programs, potentially affecting program operations, treatment placement decisions, utilization controls, and compliance expectations across the substance use disorder treatment system. The bill does not create a new appropriation, but it does require regulatory implementation and could affect certified providers that must adjust policies, staffing, documentation, and service levels to meet the new standard.

Sentiment

The available vote history suggests broad support at the committee level: the bill passed the Assembly committee vote 16-0 and was sent onward as amended. The bill’s stated purpose—improving substance use disorder treatment quality and aligning certified programs with evidence-based standards—appears to have been received positively. There is no committee transcript in the provided materials indicating organized opposition or significant debate.

Contention

The main policy issue is not whether evidence-based standards should be used, but how broadly and quickly the ASAM standard should be imposed on certified programs and how the Department of Health Care Services should implement it. Potential points of concern for providers could include compliance costs, operational changes, and the need for new regulations and guidance. Another possible issue is the bill’s interaction with existing certification and licensing frameworks, since it extends a standard already used for licensed facilities to certified programs as well.