CMA-sponsored bills head to Governor Brown for his signature The California State Legislature has passed two California Medical Association (CMA)-sponsored bills: AB 2121, a life-saving measure requiring alcohol servers and managers to complete a training course on responsible beverage service; and SB 1177, to establish a Physician Health and Wellness Program for California physicians. Another CMA-sponsored bill, SB 563, was incorporated into SB 1160 to increase transparency and accountability in the workers’ compensation utilization review process. These bills are now on the Governor's desk awaiting his signature. AB 2121 would make Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control responsible beverage training ... September 13, 2016 General California Legislature, Physician Wellness, State Legislative Advocacy, Workers' Compensation, Alcohol 0 0 Comment Read More »
All CMA-sponsored bills survive key committee deadline All of the bills sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) this year have survived a key deadline, passing out of policy committees so that they can continue through the legislative process. Measures that did not receive committee approval were shelved for the year. More details about CMA's sponsored bill package are below: AB 2121 (Gonzalez) – Responsible Beverage Service Training This bill seeks to help reduce alcohol service to intoxicated individuals and to reduce drunk driving by requiring establishments that serve alcohol to employ servers and managers who have received responsible ... April 28, 2016 CMA, General Emergency Services, State Legislative Advocacy, Alcohol, Physician Wellness 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: April 11, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A Higher Wage (and Higher Tobacco Tax?) Gov. Jerry Brown continued to make history when he signed a $15/hour minimum wage into law. The governor, whose administration had publicly opposed calls for a higher wage, couched the increase in moral terms at a Los Angeles signing ceremony. What’s notable is that the higher wage will take effect statewide. Others had thought that more economically depressed areas of the state ... April 12, 2016 General CMA Capitol Insight, State Legislative Advocacy, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
Field Poll shows support for warning labels on sugary drinks; study confirms labels can be a deterrent A new statewide Field Poll finds increasing voter support in California for warning labels on sugary beverages, despite ramped-up counter efforts by the beverage industry. Nearly four out of five registered voters polled (78 percent) support requiring warning labels to be printed on sugary drinks, up from 74 percent two years ago. A national study published last week in the journal Pediatrics also suggests that warning labels on sugary beverages might indeed deter people from buying the products. Researchers said they found that the impact of putting a label on the ... January 25, 2016 General Obesity, Public Health, State Legislative Advocacy, Diabetes 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA publishes 2015 Legislative Wrap-Up It is difficult to imagine, but the 2015 legislative year was even more challenging than 2014, which included the diversion of staff resources to defeat the trial lawyers’ Proposition 46. From the hard-fought victory of Senate Bill 277—a bill that eliminates the personal belief exemption for schoolchildren—to the full court press in the final day of the legislative session to eliminate Assembly Bill 533—a bill that would have allowed a massive transfer of negotiating power to health plans at the expense of physicians—the California Medical Association (CMA) worked through ... October 14, 2015 General Immunization, Public Health, State Legislative Advocacy, State Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
Did you know: The key word in any appeal is... Thanks to California Medical Association (CMA) sponsored legislation (AB 1455) and the resulting regulations, payors are required to establish a fast, fair and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanism (i.e., “appeal process”) to resolve provider disputes. Anytime a payor contests, adjusts or denies a claim, they are required to advise the provider of the availability of the appeal process and instructions for submitting the appeal. Payors are also required to acknowledge receipt of a written appeal within two working days for electronic appeals or 15 working days for paper appeals. The payor ... August 6, 2015 General State Legislative Advocacy, Appeals 0 0 Comment Read More »
Six tobacco bills to be taken up during special session on health Six bills aimed at saving lives and reducing the cost of tobacco-related diseases on California’s health system will be taken up during the Legislature’s second special session to address health care — a meeting ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown. Some of the bills being proposed are the same as those introduced in the Capitol earlier this year, including bills to add e-cigarettes to the existing tobacco products definition and to increase the age of sale for tobacco products to 21. Other bills introduced would allow local jurisdictions to tax tobacco ... July 29, 2015 General State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Tobacco, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Special session on Medi-Cal financing underway in the Capitol In June, Gov. Jerry Brown convened a special legislative session on "health care financing." Specifically, legislators will be working to come up with new funding for developmental disability services, in-home supportive services and the Medi-Cal program, which is facing a shortfall of at least $1.1 billion through the loss of the managed care organization (MCO) tax. Since 2005, the state has taxed MCOs and used the money to cover the costs of provider reimbursement. However, last summer federal officials informed California that its MCO tax structure was not compliant with ... July 20, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Cuts, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Package of six bills would raise smoking age, regulate e-cigarettes and fight youth smoking, among other proposals Sacramento, CA — The Save Lives California coalition praised Senate and Assembly Democrats for announcing a bold package of bills to fight the No. 1 cause of preventable death in California: tobacco use. The bills will be taken up during the second extraordinary session, called by Governor Jerry Brown to address healthcare. In a display of strong cooperation and determination, the two houses have each introduced the same six bills aimed at preventing death from tobacco-related diseases and reducing costs of smoking on California’s health system by reducing smoking and ... July 20, 2015 General Save Lives California, State Legislative Advocacy, Tobacco, Tobacco Tax, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: May 26, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner works of the state Legislature. Only time will tell As a bill to require children to receive vaccinations before entering public school moved off the Senate floor, the tactics of the California Chiropractic Association were brought into question through a number of independent journalism reports. The California Medical Association will continue to fight hard for what we believe is good public health policy. And while we understand that there can be honest and open disagreement ... June 2, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, State Legislative Advocacy, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
