CMA congratulates Dr. Joaquin Arambula on 31st Assembly District win Joaquin Arambula, M.D., a Fresno emergency room physician and member of the California Medical Association (CMA), won a special election on Tuesday to fill a seat vacated by Henry T. Perea in the 31st district in the state Assembly. Dr. Arambula, a Democrat, received 52 percent of the 29,000 votes counted, besting Republican Clint Olivier's 42 percent. “Today, we congratulate Dr. Joaquin Arambula on a well run campaign and a well deserved victory,” said Steve Larson, M.D., president of the CMA. "CMA diligently advocates on behalf of providers and patients to improve health care in the Central Valley and across the state. Last night was another step in the right direction to ensure all Californians have access to high quality care." Dr. Arambula practices medicine at Adventist Medical Center-Selma, where he has served in a senior position with California Emergency Physicians for the past eight years. The medical center’s emergency department has won two California Emergency Physician Distinguished Hospital of the Year awards during that time. He will hold the assembly seat for eight months and then will have to stand for re-election in November. Dr. Arambula said one of his long-term objectives is to bring a medical school to the Central Valley, where he can't recruit enough physicians to keep up with patient volumes that have tripled in the last decade. "I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work - fighting for the issues important to the valley like more water, better schools and quality health care," Arambula said. April 12, 2016 General Election, Fresno-Madera Medical Society, State Legislature, CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA member Dr. Joaquin Arambula kicks off election campaign for state Assembly Joaquin Arambula, M.D., a California Medical Association (CMA) member and emergency room physician from Fresno, kicked off his campaign to represent the 31st district in the state Assembly this Thursday. Born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley, Dr. Arambula is a product of Fresno public schools and the son of former Assemblyman Juan Arambula. Dr. Arambula practices medicine at Adventist Medical Center-Selma, where he has served in a senior position with California Emergency Physicians for the past eight years. The medical center’s emergency department has won two California Emergency Physician Distinguished Hospital of the Year awards during that time. Dr. Arambula also encourages younger generations to take up the health care profession through his involvement with UCSF Fresno, a regional campus of the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. If elected, one of Dr. Arambula’s most ambitious goals includes building a medical school in the Fresno area. Dr. Arambula’s endorsements include CMA, the California Legislative Latino Caucus, the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Hanford Mayor Russ Curry, Former Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and dozens of other current and former Assemblymembers, school board members, city council members and mayors. He has also received an endorsement from Assemblyman Henry T. Perea, who currently represents the 31st Assembly district, but will be termed out next year. While these endorsements help, it is imperative that the physician community continue to support Dr. Arambula to ensure his success. Electing like-minded colleagues into the state legislature means physicians’ voices will be heard on the biggest policy issues facing the state. Help get his campaign off to a strong start by contributing to his campaign today! July 20, 2015 General Physician Leadership, CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
2014 election wrap up: Physician-friendly candidates win majority of their races On Election Day, the California Medical Association (CMA) made history by resoundingly defeating the trial attorneys' attempt to overturn California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) protections. This was one of the most contentious and high-stakes ballot fights in California history. The voters sent a clear message: Californians simply don’t want to increase health care costs and reduce health access so trial attorneys can file more lawsuits. But the Election Night celebration was not limited to Prop. 46: CMA’s priority candidates also performed exceedingly well. CMA participated in "independent expenditure" campaigns for six candidates. Sacramento Pediatrician and Assemblyman Richard Pan, M.D., was at the top of the list. Dr. Pan faced off against fellow democrat Roger Dickinson in California Senate District 6 in one of the most hotly-contested races of the election. Conventional wisdom gave Dr. Pan very little chance to defeat Dickinson, who has spent more than 30 years as a career politician. However, CMA built a coalition of labor and business allies to put together a full-fledged campaign that helped overcome a double-digit deficit in the primary to place Dr. Pan in the State Senate. In another tight race, two liberal Democrats, David Chiu and David Campos, squared off for San Francisco's Assembly District 17. The candidates agreed on many issues, but David Chiu believes in and publicly advocates for the protection of MICRA. Chiu’s advocacy on the matter became a critical point of contention in the campaign, transforming this race into a proxy race for Proposition 46. Once again, the advocate for protecting access to care prevailed, CMA-endorsed David Chiu will be heading to Sacramento. CMA emerged from the election with a perfect score on the six independent expenditure campaigns for our endorsed candidates. In total, the 15 CMA-endorsed candidates for state Senate all won their election. In the state Assembly, 65 out of our 70 endorsed candidates triumphed. (Please note there are a few races that are too close to call.) Click here to see the full roster of candidates CMA supported and the results of their races. November 17, 2014 General CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
Los Angeles Times opposes Prop. 46 as "flawed" The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times has taken a position of “NO” on Proposition 46, declaring that it is a “flawed,” combination platter of health care-related proposals. The Los Angeles Times has joined with every other major paper in the state by taking a NO position on Prop. 46, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News and the Los Angeles News Group, which includes the Los Angeles Daily News, Pasadena Star News, Whittier Daily News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Long Beach Press Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts. The Times editorial states the “methods the measure would use to achieve” its goals “are too flawed to be enacted into law.” The editorial continues: “quadrupling the cap (on none economic damages) all at once would force doctors, hospitals and clinics to carry considerably higher levels of insurance, which would cost them more.” Because Prop. 46 is really three different initiatives in one – all of which are too complicated, too costly and too flawed – an unprecedented bipartisan coalition of more than 600 statewide and community groups have joined to oppose it, including (partial list): California Teachers Association California School Boards Association Association of California School Administrators California State Firefighters Association California State Association of Counties League of California Cities Urban Counties Caucus Rural County Representatives of California California Special Districts Association California Chamber of Commerce Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California AFSCME California PEOPLE State Building and Construction Trades Council of California California Medical Association California Dental Association California Hospital Association California Pharmacists Association American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American College of Emergency Physicians, California Chapter California Association of Physician Groups California Association for Nurse Practitioners Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Community Clinics Association of Los Angeles County La Clínica de La Raza California Association of Rural Health Clinics Central Valley Health Network NAACP California California Republican Party Los Angeles County Democratic Party Yuba County Democratic Party To learn more, visit www.NoOn46.com. October 6, 2014 General CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA releases statewide voters guide Election Day is less than one month away. We hope that you will show up to the polls (or send in that vote-by-mail ballot) and ensure that the voice of physicians and patients are heard loud and clear at the ballot box on November 4. The California Medical Association (CMA) has published a comprehensive voter’s guide that includes CMA's recommended position on statewide ballot propositions 45 and 46, as well as a list of CMA-endorsed candidates for statewide office, state legislative districts and congressional districts. Download the guide here. Contact: CMA member service center, (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org. October 6, 2014 General CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
House of Delegates Highlights House of Delegates acts on hospital care The California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates has voted to take action on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) "outpatient patient observation" status, finding it to be a practice that places undue financial burden on patients, complicates the practice of medicine and often results in physicians receiving reduced payments for services provided. Resolution 211-13, which received strong support on the floor of the House, was submitted as an emergency resolution and asked that CMA request that CMS eliminate its "outpatient patient observation" status, which is placed upon patients whose anticipated hospital stay is 48 hours or less. Supporters of the resolution noted that this practice places undue financial burden on patients, while also creating administrative hurdles if the patient is subsequently admitted as an inpatient to the hospital. The resolution was adopted by the House and now directs CMA staff to work with CMS to address the issue. Delegates support work towards EHR interoperability The California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates today displayed a strong show of support for electronic health record (EHR) interoperability (Res. 518-13) and directed the association to support the development of a secure, interoperable, nationwide health information exchange network. Supporters of the resolution noted that much work needs to be done to achieve meaningful interoperability and facilitate efficient, timely and coordinated patient care among providers in different geographical areas. The resolution directs CMA to support efforts to harmonize standards and specifications that would enable usability and interoperability of EHR systems and facilitate the exchange of health information among health care providers. Delegates show record support for political action committee In a record-setting show of support for CALPAC, the California Medical Association (CMA) political action committee, members of the CMA House of Delegates this weekend contributed a total of roughly $176,000, besting last year’s previous high of $152,000 by $24,000. The remarkable number was reached without harming the facial hair of any physicians in attendance. Last year, if you recall, then CALPAC chair and new CMA president Richard E. Thorp, M.D., promised to shave his famous moustache in front of the House if the delegates hit the $150,000 mark. The new record was instead spurred in large part by the trial lawyers’ all-out assault on California's historic tort reform law, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). The trial-lawyer backed Consumer Watchdog has submitted language for a ballot initiative that would more than quadruple California's current $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and create a cash windfall for the trial attorneys who calculate their fees based upon the size of the total jury award. CALPAC is the first line of defense for California’s historic physician protections, which help keep malpractice premiums in-check and ensure that California’s patients have access to affordable health care. While the record breaking donations were a House-wide effort, several districts and sections boasted an unprecedented 100 percent participation, including the medical student and resident/fellow sections. The donations collected over the weekend, as well as all contributions made to CALPAC, will be used to defend MICRA and to support candidates who share medicine’s agenda and priorities and will work to affect policies beneficial to the House of Medicine. Delegates vote to support payment for telephone and email consultations Voting with an overwhelming majority, the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates has said that insurers should be required to reimburse physicians for telephonic and electronic patient management. The resolution (Res. 407-13) asks CMA to sponsor legislation to that effect when politically and economically feasible. The resolution received nearly universal support during testimony, with many speakers noting that patients are increasingly relying upon telephone calls and emails for consultations that previously were conducted during in-office appointments. Under the language adopted by the House, payment for these consultations would be similar to office visits that are similar in complexity or time required from the treating physicians. The issue of payment for telephonic or electronic patient management has come before the House in the past, with CMA previously having adopted policy to support the practice, but this latest resolution explicitly asks the association to sponsor legislation to mandate the practice in California. October 14, 2013 General Advocacy, California Political Action Committee, CALPAC, Electronic Health Record, Health Information Technology, MICRA, Professional Liability, EHR, House of Delegates, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
