Survey: How would the AB 3087 price fixing proposal affect your practice? Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) last week announced a radical physician rate setting proposal (AB 3087) that would increase patient out-of-pocket costs, create state-sanctioned rationing of health care for all Californians and force physicians out of state or into early retirement. The California Medical Association is asking physicians to answer a few questions about how AB 3087 will impact their practices. The survey is anonymous and the results will help in our legislative efforts to fight this dangerous and irresponsible legislation. Take the survey now at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/ab3087. And, if you are among ... April 24, 2018 General Rate Regulation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Take action NOW to stop radical physician rate regulation bill Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) last week announced a radical proposal that would increase patient out-of-pocket costs and result in a dangerous government intrusion into the health care market by creating state-sanctioned rationing of health care for all Californians. Assembly Bill 3087 would establish an undemocratic, government-run commission with nine political appointees who would unilaterally set the price for all medical services that are not already controlled by the government, essentially eliminating commercial health care markets in California. None of the political appointees are required to be patient-focused or have ... April 24, 2018 General Grassroots Advocacy, Physician Workforce, Rate Regulation, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CA Physicians Overwhelmingly Oppose Radical Health Care Price Fixing Bill FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2018 SOURCE: California Medical Association CONTACT: Charlie Lawlor, clawlor@cmanet.org CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TODAY - CLICK HERE! Sacramento, CALIF. – Today, Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) released new details on a radical new legislative proposal that would increase patient out-of-pocket costs and result in a dangerous government intrusion into the health care market by creating state-sanctioned rationing of health care for all Californians. Assembly Bill 3087 would establish an undemocratic, government-run commission with nine political appointees who would unilaterally set the price for all medical services that are not already ... April 9, 2018 CMA, General, Press Releases Rate Regulation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA survey finds rampant health plan payment abuses Despite a California law passed in 2000 to address widespread payment abuses by health care service plans, many payors continue to flout the law. A recent survey by the California Medical Association (CMA) confirms that health plans regularly engage in unfair payment practices, with two-thirds of physician practices reporting routine payment abuses in violation of state law. The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has been slow to address provider complaints and has taken few enforcement actions against health plans that unlawfully underpay providers. When DMHC has acted, the penalty ... April 5, 2018 CMA, General, Managed Care Department of Managed Health Care, DMHC, Payors, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Unfair Payment Practices 0 0 Comment Read More »
Gov. Brown signs CMA-sponsored responsible beverage service training bill On Sunday, October 15, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) and introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, requiring individuals who sell or serve alcoholic beverages to undergo responsible beverage service training. “The purpose of this law is simple: to help educate bartenders about how to serve alcohol responsibly and how to recognize when a customer’s had enough to drink,” Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher said. “This law will mean fewer drunk drivers on the road, which will reduce the risk of future tragedies. It will ... November 14, 2017 CMA, General Medical Students, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
State suspends clinical lab license fees for two years Governor Brown signed a bill (AB 658) on Sept. 28 that suspends the state's clinical laboratory license renewal fees for two years, 2018 and 2019. The bill is a result of an audit that found that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) had collected millions more in laboratory fees than it had spent operating the Laboratory Field Services (LFS) branch. The fund’s current reserves exceed $22 million. Under existing state law, however, CDPH could not suspend or refund these fees. This bill only suspends renewal fees and will not apply ... October 13, 2017 General Accreditation, Clinical Laboratories, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges Gov. Brown to sign responsible beverage service bill Educating beverage servers in bars and restaurants is a key part of reducing drunk-driving fatalities. The California Legislature has passed a bill sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) that would require California bartenders, servers and managers to receive responsible beverage service training based on a curriculum developed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The bill—AB 1221 (Gonzalez Fletcher)—now heads to Governor Brown for his signature. Contact the governor’s office today and urge him to sign this important bill! The bill is the result of a tragic drunk-driving accident that ... October 13, 2017 General Medical Students, State Legislative Advocacy, Alcohol, State Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
California grapples with 'severe' doctor shortage, study shows California doesn't have enough doctors to handle its primary health care demands and the problem is getting worse. A new study by UCSF Healthforce Center finds that California doesn’t have enough primary care physicians in most regions of the state. According to the study, the shortage is becoming more acute because of an aging physician workforce, a growing patient population and expanded coverage through the Affordable Care Act. According to the study, only two regions of California (the Greater Bay Area and Sacramento) have ratios of primary care physicians per ... March 2, 2017 General California State Budget, Graduate Medical Education, Physician Workforce, Primary Care, State Legislative Advocacy, Underserved Communities 0 0 Comment Read More »
Leading health care groups deeply concerned that Governor's budget proposal may decimate access to care In his 2017-18 budget proposal, Governor Jerry Brown eliminates $33.4 million in health care workforce funding that would begin addressing the primary care workforce crisis that is gripping California’s underserved communities. This is the first year of a three-year $100 million investment. The budget investment came at the urging of a broad coalition of statewide healthcare organizations including the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP), CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates, and the California Medical Association (CMA), who recognized that access to care challenges must be systemically and comprehensively addressed. “While our organizations recognize ... February 13, 2017 General California State Budget, Medi-Cal, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA publishes 2016 Legislative Wrap-Up The delivery of health care, and its costs, remains at the forefront of California politics. Dramatic changes, such as the Affordable Care Act, escalating health care premiums, consolidation of health plans, rising drug costs and the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), continue to create uncertainty in the marketplace, causing a relatively new state legislature to question nearly every aspect of health care delivery in California. The result during the 2016-2017 legislative session was a record number of significant legislative challenges to the ... October 13, 2016 General State Legislative Advocacy, State Legislature, State Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
