Cal. HSC § 1385.004
This is the official text of Cal. HSC § 1385.004, part of California’s Health and Safety Code — covers public health, hospitals, controlled substances, and environmental health standards.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) A health care service plan that contracts with a pharmacy benefit manager for management of any or all of its prescription drug coverage shall require the pharmacy benefit manager to do all of the following:
(1) Comply with the provisions of Section 1385.003.
(2) Register with the department pursuant to the requirements of this article, or, if licensure of the pharmacy benefit manager is required pursuant to this article, obtain a license and keep it in good standing with the department.
(3) Exercise good faith and fair dealing in the performance of its contractual duties to a health care service plan.
(4) Comply with the requirements of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 4430) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, as applicable.
(5) Inform all pharmacists under contract with or subject to contracts with the pharmacy benefit manager of the pharmacist’s rights to submit complaints to the department under Section 1371.39 and of the pharmacist’s rights as a provider under Section 1375.7.
(b) Contracts issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, between a health care service plan and a pharmacy benefit manager shall require the pharmacy benefit manager to submit to the Department of Health Care Access and Information all information required to be reported pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 127671) of Part 2 of Division 107.
(c) A pharmacy benefit manager shall notify a health care service plan in writing of any activity, policy, or practice of the pharmacy benefit manager that directly or indirectly presents a conflict of interest that interferes with the discharge of the pharmacy benefit manager’s duty to the health care service plan to exercise good faith and fair dealing in the performance of its contractual duties pursuant to subdivision (a).
(1) Comply with the provisions of Section 1385.003.
(2) Register with the department pursuant to the requirements of this article, or, if licensure of the pharmacy benefit manager is required pursuant to this article, obtain a license and keep it in good standing with the department.
(3) Exercise good faith and fair dealing in the performance of its contractual duties to a health care service plan.
(4) Comply with the requirements of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 4430) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, as applicable.
(5) Inform all pharmacists under contract with or subject to contracts with the pharmacy benefit manager of the pharmacist’s rights to submit complaints to the department under Section 1371.39 and of the pharmacist’s rights as a provider under Section 1375.7.
(b) Contracts issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, between a health care service plan and a pharmacy benefit manager shall require the pharmacy benefit manager to submit to the Department of Health Care Access and Information all information required to be reported pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 127671) of Part 2 of Division 107.
(c) A pharmacy benefit manager shall notify a health care service plan in writing of any activity, policy, or practice of the pharmacy benefit manager that directly or indirectly presents a conflict of interest that interferes with the discharge of the pharmacy benefit manager’s duty to the health care service plan to exercise good faith and fair dealing in the performance of its contractual duties pursuant to subdivision (a).
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.