14043.55. (Amended by Stats. 2026, Ch. 252, Sec. 24.)

(a) The department may implement a 180-day moratorium on the enrollment of providers in a specific provider of service category, on a statewide basis or within a geographic area, when the director determines this action is necessary to safeguard public funds or to maintain the fiscal integrity of the program. The department shall provide written notice to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee at least 10 calendar days prior to the effective date of the initiation of a moratorium implemented under this subdivision. The department shall provide a new notification every 180 days that a moratorium is in effect. These written notices shall include the rationale for the moratorium or extension of an existing moratorium, as applicable, affected provider categories, and geographic scope. This moratorium may be extended or repeated when the director determines this action is necessary to safeguard public funds or to maintain the fiscal integrity of the program. The authority granted in this section shall not be interpreted as a limitation on the authority granted to the department in Section 14105.3.

(b) If the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services establishes a temporary moratorium on enrollment as described in federal regulations, the department shall establish a corresponding moratorium covering the same period and provider types, even if those provider types would not ordinarily be subject to a moratorium under this section, unless the department determines that the imposition of the moratorium will adversely impact beneficiaries access to medical assistance. A federal moratorium adopted under this subdivision shall not be subject to the director’s determinations regarding safeguards of public funds and program integrity or other prerequisites that are necessary to implement a state-initiated moratorium.