Columnist Discusses Bill That Would Boost Clinic Oversight

California lawmakers are working "to close the holes in state regulation of independent surgical clinics," Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes. Under current state law, outpatient facilities that perform major surgical procedures -- such as lap-band weight loss surgeries -- must receive accreditation from one of four nongovernmental organizations recognized by the California Medical Board. Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) has introduced a bill (SB 1150) that aims to increase oversight of surgical clinics by prohibiting the four accreditation groups from certifying any facility that had its accreditation suspended or revoked by another organization.

• "Lap-Band Patients Operate in the Dark" (Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4/18).