California Legislation
California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA.
CNA sponsored bills 2013 Legislative Session
AB 578 (Dickinson) DMHC sunshine. This bill would require the state Department of Managed Health Care to provide public notice and information about new managed care applicants, including those who want to participate in the ACA-required health exchange. The bill would also direct the DMHC to invite written public comment and hold a public hearing prior to approval of an application.
AB 975 (Wiekowski-Bonta) Charity Care. The bill would clearly define what constitutes charity care which must be direct provision of care to the uninsured or underinsured, not promotional activities, marketing, cost containment, or other activities more intended to generate profit. Set similar restrictions on the definition of “community benefit” programs. Improve reporting requirements for greater public transparency in how hospitals are meeting their charity care obligation, with financial penalties for hospitals that fail to meet reporting requirements.
- Bill seeks nonprofit hospital charity boost, Eisenhower Medical Center on list
Palm Springs Desert Sun, 03/18/13
- Hospitals’ abuse of charity care puts communities at risk
Capitol Weekly, 03/12/13 - New Legislation Would Force Nonprofit Hospitals To Disclose Charity Care Spending
Watch and share this great new clip from CBS, 03/12/13 - REPORT: California Non-Profit Hospitals Save Billions While Providing Little Charity Care
IHSP, 08/15/12
SB 631 (Beall) Patient Ratio Bill. The bill would address the problem of lack of staffing and other standards in observation units and will ensure that outpatient surgical settings are appropriately staffed in cases where surgical procedures of higher complexity are performed.
SB 718 (Yee) Workplace Violence. This bill is intended to stem a growing problem of workplace violence in California hospitals. It would require hospitals to establish workplace violence prevention plans and response policies, developed with their employees, to protect workers and patients, and assure treatment for all injured staff, including follow up care and counseling.
Other priority bills of 2013 Legislative Session (HIGHLIGHTS):
SUPPORT
SB 271 (Hernandez) ADN program. Makes the OSHPD ADN Scholarship Pilot Program permanent
ABX1 1 (Perez) – Medi-Cal Expansion. Supports the expansion of medical
SBX1 1 (Hernandez) – Medi-Cal Expansion. Supports the expansion of medical
SB 189 (Monning) Wellness Program. This bill, would prohibit until 2020, a health care service plan or health insurer from offering a wellness program in connection with a group health care service plan contract or group health insurance policy, or offering an incentive or reward under a group health care service plan contract or group health insurance policy.
OPPOSE
SB 455 (Hernandez) Patient Classification System (PCS). Most of our members work in hospitals that are subject the nurse-to-patient ratios established by AB 394 (Kuehl, Chapter 954, Statutes of 1999). AB 394 specifically references the PCS, which is an integral part of minimum safe staffing standards, and makes maintaining, reviewing and staffing according to the PCS a current requirement for general acute care hospitals (GACH). We are strongly concerned about the potential for SB 455 (sponsored by AFSCME), to weaken existing hospital regulations governing PCS hospital staffing tools by requiring CDPH to adopt and review PCS regulations that already exist. Proponents argue that the real crux of the bill is to ensure that union represented hospitals put union friendly nurses on PCS committees. The bill is unnecessary as union participation in PCS review committees can be achieved through collective bargaining. It’s an inappropriate use of statute to go through the legislature to achieve what should be done at the bargaining table.
SB 352 (Hernandez) NP/PA supervision of MAs. This bill would expand the setting of the supervision of Medical Assistants.
SB 492 (Hernandez) Optometrists Spot Bill. This bill seeks to increase the scope of practice of Optometrists.
SB 493 (Hernandez) Pharmacists Spot Bill. This bill seeks to increase the scope of practice of Pharmacists.
AB 291 (Nestande) Joint Sunset Review. This bill would abolish the Joint Sunset Review Process. This process is a legislative committee that looks waste, duplication and inefficiencies in California’s government agencies. This bill would instead turf that process to the Administration.
SB 554 (Anderson) Employment Overtime. Changes overtime compensation for employees of 24-hour nonmedical out-of-home licensed residential facilities.
SB 607 (Berryhill) Employment, working hours. This bill would permit an individual nonexempt employee to request an employee-selected flexible work schedule providing for workdays up to 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek, and would allow the employer to implement this schedule without the obligation to pay overtime compensation for those additional hours in a workday.
AB 1243 (Hueso) Independent Contractors. Changes the law to presume taxi cab drivers are independent contracts and ineligible to organize.
AB 186 (Mainschein) Military Spouses. Allow for a provisional license to spouses of active duty members of military stationed in California.
AB 864 (Skinner) Athletic Trainers. This bill would license athletic trainers.
AB 512 (Rendon) – Out of state practitioners. This bill would lift the sunset and make permanent allow out of state practitioners (who do not have a California license to practice) to deliver care to under/uninsured Californians during health fares, leaving a consumer the only avenue to sue, if something adverse goes wrong.
WATCH
AB 213 (Logue) Licensure and Certification for Military Personnel. Requires boards to accept education, training, and practical experience toward licensure qualification.
AB 1163 (Levine) PERS Board. This bill would revise the composition of the Board of Administration of PERS.
AB 939 (Melendez) AED, school usage. This bill provides liability for an employee of a school district regarding the specified use or non-use of an AED.
AB 446 (Mitchell) – HIV test results. Requires an HIV test for every blood draw ordered in an ED, public health clinic, or urgent care center, upon patient consent, and that the results be given prior to patient leaving
AB 390 (Logue) – Telemedicine. Spot bill likely on telehealth
AB 689 (Bonta) – Flu Vaccine. Requires hospitals to offer flu vaccine to all patients at discharge
AB 809 (Logue) – Requires verbal notice to patient that telehealth may be used for patient verbal consent
SB 563 (Galgiani) - Hospital Architectural plans. This bill would require a person or entity requesting a copy of a plan maintained by the office to bear the cost of producing the copy of that plan.
SB 669 (Huff) Epipen. Authorizes EMS, first responders, or lay rescuer to use an Epi-Pen to render emergency care to another person and requires EMSA to establish standards for use.
Please also see:
CNA Endorsements (Supported Candidates)
NNU Legislation (Supported Bills)
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