California Medical Association responds to vote on Senate Bill 622 After today’s vote in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, California Medical Association President Luther F. Cobb, M.D., responded with the following statement regarding Senate Bill 622: "The amount of training to perform eye surgery stipulated by SB 622, even with the amendments adopted today, is still inadequate to ensure patient safety. Medical doctors perform hundreds more procedures and have tens of thousands more hours of training than what would be required of optometrists under this bill. All Californians deserve to have well-trained physicians to provide high-quality care, ... April 29, 2015 General Scope of Practice, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Optometrists 0 0 Comment Read More »
Second bill to increase Medi-Cal rates advances through first committee California’s policymakers are continuing to show support for legislation that would fully fund the state’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) program. Two bills would restore a 10 percent reimbursement rate cut and raise those rates to Medicare levels, allowing better access to health care for patients. Assembly Bill 366 (Bonta, D-Oakland) and Senate Bill 243 (Hernandez, D-West Covina) are currently moving through the legislature. AB 366 took its first step through the legislative process when it advanced to the Assembly Appropriations Committee with unanimous approval on April 14. Last week, it was SB ... April 29, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Cuts, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Polio survivors gather with Senator Dr. Richard Pan to reinforce the need for SB 277 before bill passed through Education Committee Standing one room away from an antique iron lung, a historic medical device once used to help polio patients breathe, survivors of the once widespread disease urged parents on Tuesday to get their children vaccinated in order to avoid suffering from completely preventable diseases. The polio survivors surrounded Senator Richard Pan, M.D., who authored Senate Bill 277, which would require most children enrolled in school to be immunized from highly infectious diseases. They joined together at the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society’s Museum of Medical History to speak on the ... April 23, 2015 General Public Health, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Vaccination, Immunization 0 0 Comment Read More »
Senate Bill 277 clears Senate Education Committee Sacramento – Senate Bill 277 (Pan/Allen) cleared the Senate Education Committee today with a 7-2 vote. The bill will now move on to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This is a huge step forward for public health and the safety of our schools and communities,” said Luther Cobb, M.D., California Medical Association president. “Vaccinations are a proven method to prevent many illnesses and SB 277 will ensure more kids are protected against these diseases.” SB 277 will remove the Personal Belief Exemption (PBE) option from the school and child care enrollment requirements. ... April 23, 2015 General Immunization, Public Health, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Vaccination, I Heart Immunity 0 0 Comment Read More »
Political panel speaks on Medi-Cal, physician workforce at CMA Legislative Advocacy Day The importance of ensuring access to care for Californians and possible policy solutions, including increasing the physician workforce and expanding health care technology, were key topics during a panel discussion at the California Medical Association’s (CMA) annual Legislative Advocacy Day on April 14. The panel, composed of Assembly Health Committee Chair Rob Bonta, Assembly Business and Professions Committee Chair Susan Bonilla and moderator CMA Senior Vice President Janus Norman, delved first into California’s ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Providing accessible high-quality health care to as many Californians as ... April 23, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislative Advocacy, Legislative Advocacy Day 0 0 Comment Read More »
Bill that would increase Medi-Cal rates wins unanimous committee vote A California Assembly bill that would raise California’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) reimbursement rates for providers took its first step through the state legislature on April 14, receiving unanimous approval from the Assembly Health Committee. Under AB 366, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), dramatic improvements would be made in the Medi-Cal system by restoring cuts made to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, then raising them to Medicare levels. California is currently 47th in the country’s Medicaid reimbursement rates. Luther F. Cobb, M.D., president of the California Medical Association, testified in support of the bill, ... April 23, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
On 60th anniversary of polio vaccine, physicians support bill to expand vaccines Senate Bill 277 is built on science and will keep kids and communities safe from preventable diseases. Sacramento – As Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of Dr. Jonas Salk’s creation of a vaccine for polio, California Medical Association (CMA) President Luther Cobb, M.D., issued the following statement: “None of us practicing medicine today are old enough to have lived through the first major U.S. polio epidemic, which occurred in 1894, or the first large-scale outbreak in 1916, which resulted in 6,000 deaths. Those trends unfortunately continued, and into the 1940s ... April 14, 2015 General Immunization, Public Health, State Legislative Advocacy, Vaccination, I Heart Immunity 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA takes on public health, Medi-Cal with 2015 sponsored legislation California Medical Association (CMA) sponsored bills for 2015 include a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes, increasing provider rates for Medi-Cal and establishing a Graduate Medical Education Trust Fund in light of inadequate funding levels from the federal government. SB 591 (Pan) – Cigarette and tobacco products taxes: California Tobacco Tax Act of 2015 This bill is the CMA-led Save Lives Coalition’s legislative strategy to increase the state’s tobacco tax by $2 per pack. The bill would allocate funds raised by the tax to tobacco prevention and education, programs provided by ... March 24, 2015 General Medi-Cal, POLST, State Legislative Advocacy, Tobacco Tax, Workers' Compensation, Graduate Medical Education 0 0 Comment Read More »
Health care coalition joined by Sen. Hernandez, Assemblymember Bonta to reignite Medi-Cal legislation, reduce health care inequality Sacramento – Preceding today’s joint legislative informational hearing to address pitfalls within California’s Medicaid system (Medi-Cal), Senate Health Committee Chair Ed Hernandez and Assembly Health Committee Chair Rob Bonta joined health care providers, patients and advocates on the steps of the Capitol. Newly introduced, legislation to restore a 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal reimbursement goes a step further than in past efforts by proposing that Medi-Cal payments to providers be on par with what Medicare pays for the same services. “Expanding access to health care coverage, as we have done ... March 9, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislative Advocacy, Timely Access, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Join CMA March 26 for Legislative Advocacy Day Lobbying 101 webinar Participants in the California Medical Association's (CMA) 2015 Annual Legislative Advocacy Day, scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, are invited to attend a special Lobbying 101 webinar to review CMA’s list of sponsored bills to be lobbied and to learn effective advocacy tips. CMA’s Center for Government Relations will host the webinar on March 26 from 6-7 p.m. Legislative Advocacy Day will be held at the Sheraton Grand, located at 1230 J St., Sacramento. If you have not registered, contact Lucy Garcia at 909-273-6000 or lgarcia@sbcms.org. Click here to view the ... March 2, 2015 General State Legislative Advocacy, Website, Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
