Davis Signs Health-Related Bills
Gov. Gray Davis (D) recently signed into law eight bills relating to health care. Summaries of the bills appear below.
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SB 244 and AB 1286: Sponsored by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) and Assembly member Dario Frommer (D-Los Angeles), respectively, the bills require HMOs to give members 60 days' notice of termination of a contract with a physician or hospital. It also will allow members with serious medical conditions to continue seeing their regular health care providers for up to one year after the contract expires. Under the law, HMOs and providers will have to negotiate reimbursement rates in advance for care provided after a contract termination (Rapaport, Sacramento Bee, 9/29).
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AB 195: Sponsored by Assembly member Wilma Chan (D-Oakland), the law will encourage partnerships among HMOs, school districts and families to develop education about improved nutrition to help reduce the childhood obesity rate.
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AB 715: Also sponsored by Chan, the law protects patient privacy during pharmaceutical transactions and allows pharmacy customers to decide whether they will receive marketing information about prescription drugs (Schevitz, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/29).
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AB 948: Sponsored by Assembly member Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), the measure permits physicians who are not U.S. citizens but are legal residents to participate in medical fellowship programs under the supervision of a physician or surgeon who is appointed to a state medical school (Office of the Governor release, 9/26).
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AB 1496: Sponsored by Assembly member Cindy Montanez (D-San Fernando), the measure gives preferred provider organization members the same rights to request independent reviews of medical service denials currently provided to only HMO members (Sacramento Bee, 9/29).
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AB 1627: Sponsored by Frommer, the law will require hospitals to report fee schedules for supplies and services to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
- AB 1628: Also sponsored by Frommer, the law requires that emergency room staff consult with HMOs about care provided to members after they have been stabilized and prohibits hospitals from billing patients if the hospitals fail to get approval for care from the HMOs(San Francisco Chronicle, 9/29).
In related news, Davis is facing "pressur[e]" over whether to sign a bill (SB 2) that would require some employers in the state to provide health insurance to employees or pay into a state fund that would provide coverage, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Marimow, San Jose Mercury News, 9/29). The bill, passed earlier this month by the Legislature, would require businesses with 50 or more employees to offer health insurance or pay into the state fund. The measure would limit employee premium contributions to 20% and would require employers with 200 or more employees to provide health coverage to workers and their dependents by 2006 to avoid paying into the fund. Businesses that employ 50 to 199 workers would have to offer health insurance to employees only by 2007. Employers with fewer than 20 workers would be exempt from the law, and those with 20 to 49 workers would be exempt from the law unless the state provides tax credits to offset the cost of health benefits. The bill could cost between $1.5 billion and $6 billion (California Healthline, 9/23). Davis has until Oct. 12 to sign the measure; however, he has said that he plans to act on the bill before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election (San Jose Mercury News, 9/29).
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