Mark your calendars now for the 41st annual CMA Legislative Advocacy Day California Medical Association (CMA) and San Bernardino County Medical Society (SBCMS) members are invited to attend the 41st Annual Legislative Advocacy Day (formerly known as Legislative Leadership Conference) on April 14, 2015, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. Plan to join more than 400 physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members who will be coming to Sacramento to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. Prior to the conference members will receive webinar training on legislation and policy affecting the practice of medicine. To view the ... January 22, 2015 General Physician Leadership, State Legislative Advocacy, Legislative Advocacy Day 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: August 5, 2014 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They’re Baaaaack After a month-long recess, the California state legislature is back in session, ready for the final month of the legislative year. Gov. Jerry Brown is also back after a four-day trip to Mexico with a massive delegation of business leaders and state officials, preaching the gospel of climate change at every turn. Now that everyone has returned to Sacramento, we are all bracing for the sprint that marks the ... August 7, 2014 General Anthony York, Advocacy, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Sugary drink warning labeling bill stalls in Assembly Health committee Legislation that would have required sugar-sweetened beverages to bear a label warning consumers of their negative health effects failed to clear the Assembly Health committee yesterday. Senate Bill 1000, California’s Sugary Drink Safety Warning Act, which the California Medical Association co-sponsored, would have placed a simple warning label on the front of all bottles and cans of sugary drinks sold in California. The label, developed by a national panel of nutrition and public health experts, would have read: STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to ... June 19, 2014 General Public Health, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
State budget includes $7 million for new primary care residency slots Following the unprecedented grassroots advocacy by the physician and medical student community, the Legislature approved a state budget that includes $7 million for new primary care residency slots. The budget is now on Governor Brown's desk awaiting his signature. The California Medical Association is urging all physicians to contact the governor's office and urge him to maintain this critical funding, which will help California meet the increased demand for medical services now that millions of additional patients are insured under the Affordable Care Act. Three million dollars would be applied ... June 19, 2014 General Residents and Fellows, State Legislative Advocacy, Graduate Medical Education 0 0 Comment Read More »
California budget does not restore 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal providers California lawmakers approved a $156.4 billion state budget plan yesterday that does not restore a 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal for providers – meaning that California continues to balance its budget on the backs of California's neediest and most vulnerable patients. Thanks to California Medical Association (CMA) advocacy, in coordination with the "We Care for California" coalition, the budget does, eliminate retroactive collection of the 10 percent Medi-Cal cut that would have dated back to June 2011, saving Medi-Cal providers more than $42.1 million in retroactive "clawbacks." “Eliminating the retroactive collection ... June 19, 2014 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal, State Legislative Advocacy, California State Budget 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians descend on Sacramento to lobby a package of bills to increase access to health care As part of the California Medical Association’s (CMA) 40th Annual Legislative Leadership Conference, more than 400 physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members have come to Sacramento today to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. They will be lobbying a package of CMA-sponsored bills that will increase access to health care throughout the state. The bills include: AB 1805 (Skinner) restores a 10 percent cut made to California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) in 2011. Medi-Cal reimbursement rates are among the lowest in the nation, often reimbursing ... April 23, 2014 General State Legislative Advocacy, Advocacy, Legislative Leadership Day 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA sponsors bill to increase primary care residency slots in California Today is National Match Day, the day when thousands of California medical students learn whether they can begin their practice of medicine here or must move to training programs in other states. National Match Day is the day graduating medical students nationwide learn the location of their residency programs, the next step in training after four years of medical school. Because of funding constraints, California – where significant areas of the state already face physician shortages, especially in primary care – lacks a sufficient number of primary care residency opportunities ... March 27, 2014 General Physician Workforce, Residents and Fellows, State Legislative Advocacy, Medical Students 0 0 Comment Read More »
Field Poll shows broad voter support for health warning labels on sugar sweetened beverages Sacramento- The California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased to see the recently released poll figures suggesting that California voters support the notion of applying health-warning labels on sodas and other sugar sweetened beverages. The poll, which was conducted by The Field Poll and The California Endowment, found that 74 percent of voters support the requirement to apply health warning labels to sugar sweetened beverages, with 52 percent of voters “strongly” endorsing the requirement. Support for the labeling of potentially harmful beverages was also bipartisan, with 80 percent of Democrats, 64 ... February 20, 2014 General Advocacy, State Legislative Advocacy, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Legislation introduced to restore Medi-Cal funding Today Assembly Budget Chair Nancy Skinner and Assembly Health Chair Richard Pan, M.D., introduced two bills, one that would restore the 10 percent Medi-Cal physician payment cut that went into effect this year and another that would extend the temporary Medi-Cal primary care rate increases called for under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “I have sought to make the Medi-Cal program more cost-effective, transparent and accountable,” said Dr. Pan. “The legislation that we are introducing today continues this effort.” Medicaid rates in California are the lowest in the nation, while the ... February 20, 2014 Medi-Cal ACA, Insurance/Reimbursement, Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal Cuts, State Legislative Advocacy, Affordable Care Act, We Care for California 0 0 Comment Read More »
