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AB 1979CALIFORNIASession 20252026
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California AB 1979 regulates AI in healthcare by requiring human oversight and expanding medical privacy rules

Original title: Health care services: artificial intelligence.

September 4, 2026

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Where This Stands

Currently Unknown. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Introduced.

Version history & redline

6 versions on file

Official version history is partial: 6 linked texts are unavailable or incomplete. Source links remain available below.

Comparing 04/09/26 - Amended Assembly04/23/26 - Amended Assembly
removed addedOfficial text

The text diff for this stage has not been computed yet.

pdf extract failed: Invalid PDF structure.

Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

The Frame

What this does

Patients are protected from AI-only medical decision-making and unauthorized data sharing, ensuring that licensed human professionals remain responsible for clinical care and the security of sensitive health information.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Patients

Patients receive protections regarding the use of AI in their clinical care and the privacy of their medical information shared with chatbots.

Health care providers

Providers must ensure that AI tools do not replace independent professional judgment and must comply with CMIA privacy standards for chatbots.

Medical Board of California

The board gains authority to oversee physician violations related to the use of AI in clinical functions.

What changed

Last recorded activity September 4, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill classifies health-related chatbots as healthcare providers subject to strict medical privacy laws and mandates that licensed professionals retain independent judgment when using AI-driven clinical decision tools. It prohibits healthcare facilities from using AI to independently perform tasks that legally require a professional license.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Why It Matters

Patients are protected from AI-only medical decision-making and unauthorized data sharing, ensuring that licensed human professionals remain responsible for clinical care and the security of sensitive health information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this bill ban the use of AI in my doctor's office?
No, it does not ban AI. It requires that a licensed professional must retain independent judgment when using AI tools and prohibits AI from performing tasks that legally require a professional license.
Are health chatbots now considered medical providers?
Yes, if the chatbot is offered to a consumer for managing information, diagnosis, treatment, or management of a medical condition, it is now subject to the same privacy requirements as a healthcare provider under the CMIA.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

MONUMENT ADVOCACY

on behalf of HEALTH INNOVATION ALLIANCE

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Expansion of Healthcare Provider Definition

The bill significantly broadens the legal definition of a 'provider of health care' to include digital health chatbots, effectively bringing them under the state's most stringent medical privacy framework.

Connected Entities

otherConfidentiality of Medical Information ActExisting law governing the privacy of medical information.Map →
organizationMedical Board of CaliforniaRegulatory body with jurisdiction over physician violations.Map →
organizationOsteopathic Medical Board of CaliforniaRegulatory body with jurisdiction over physician violations.Map →
organizationState Department of Public HealthRegulator of health facilities and clinics.Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance85
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy40
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz50
    Current news / social attention level

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