SFMS Physicians Descend on Sacramento to Advocate for a Package of Bills to Increase Access to Health Care May 7, 2014 Advocacy, Medical Student, Politics and Medicine, SFMS Member, SFMS Member Events CMA Legislative Leadership Conference, physician advocacy, Lobby Day 0 A dedicated group of 30 SFMS physicians and medical students joined more than 400 of their colleagues on April 22 to bring the voice of medicine to legislators. During the CMA annual Legislative Leadership Conference, SFMS members had the opportunity to lobby legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. The SFMS group, represented by leadership as well as at-large members, met with Senator Mark Leno, Assemblymember Phil Ting, as well as legislative aide for Assemblymember Ammiano. SFMS members advocated heavily in support of the CMA-sponsored bills (AB 1805, AB 2400, AB 1771), and educated legislators on the local soda tax effort as well as the negative impact of SB 1215 on health care. SFMS would like to thank the participants for championing the cause of San Francisco physicians and their patients. We hope to bring an even larger group to Sacramento for Lobby Day 2015. Click here to view more photos from Lobby Day. SFMS/CMA-Sponsored Legislations AB 1805 (Skinner & Pan) 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 providers below the cost of care. Many Medi-Cal patients have difficulty finding providers able to care for them. As millions of new patients enter the health care delivery system, reimbursement rates must be sustainable so that patients have real access to care. The bill was unanimously approved by the Assembly Committee on Health. AB 1759 (Pan) extends through 2015 and beyond the reimbursement increase for certain Medi-Cal primary care providers, currently mandated under the Affordable Care Act, but set to expire on December 31, 2014. AB 1771 (V. Manuel Perez) increases access to care, especially in underserved areas, by requiring health insurance companies licensed in the State of California to pay contracted physicians for telephone and electronic patient management telehealth services. AB 2400 (Ridley-Thomas) improves health plan network integrity and reduce consumer confusion by giving providers more control when negotiating material changes to their health plan contracts. The bill prohibits contracts issued, amended, or renewed by health service plans and health insurers after January 1, 2015, from including provisions that terminate provider contracts if they exercise their right to negotiate or refuse a material change to the contract. It also prohibits contracts that are amended or renewed after that date from containing provisions that require participation in unspecified current and future products or product networks, unless the plan discloses the reimbursement rate, method of payment and any other contract terms that are materially different from those of the underlying agreement. SB 1000 (Monning) helps consumers make more informed decisions about purchasing and drinking sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) by requiring SSBs to be sold with a safety warning label. SFMS/CMA Opposed Legislation SB 1215 (Hernandez) eliminates the in-office exception to the self-referral law for advanced imaging, anatomic pathology, radiation therapy, and physical therapy. The bill was defeated in Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee after receiving just one vote. This bill would have been a major blow to the integrated care model, resulting in increased costs as these services would of been driven toward the more expensive hospital setting and inhibit the development of practices that integrate and coordinate care. Comments are closed.
