BILL ANALYSIS AB 2668 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2668 (Galgiani) - As Amended: April 8, 2010 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill requires CDCR, to the extent lease-revenue bonds funds are available from AB 900 (Solorio, 2007), to install telemedicine infrastructure at "the Medical Facility." FISCAL EFFECT 1)Assuming AB 900 financing is authorized for this purpose (which is the intent of the author's AB 2222, also before the committee today) and depending on the scope of the project(s), costs could range into the millions of dollars (lease-revenue bonds/GF), assuming the author intends this bill to apply only to the proposed Consolidated Care Center in Stockton. 2)Depending on the extent to which telemedicine proves a more cost-efficient method of providing inmate health care in appropriate cases, the investment in telemedicine will result in significant out-year GF health care savings that should exceed the cost of the attendant telemedicine infrastructure. COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The author notes the importance of telemedicine in ongoing state and federal efforts to provide affordable and constitutionally acceptable inmate health care and contends that the cost of building the infrastructure necessary to provide such care should be covered under the existing AB 900 lease-revenue bond authority. 2)Telemedicine a crucial component of CDCR/federal health care receiver health care efforts . According to the receiver's AB 2668 Page 2 April 2010 Cost Containment Report, telemedicine leads to significant cost avoidance in the areas of contract medical and medical custody transportation costs. Telemedicine is also a significant component of the receiver's efforts to identify $800 million in proposed health care savings in the 2010-11 state budget. According to the report: 3)NuPhysicia also recommends significantly increased telemedicine investment to address prison health care shortcomings . In March 2010, NuPhysicia, a private company involved in the telemedicine programs of The University of Texas Medical Branch, released a report - "Assessment and Evaluation: California's Opportunities for Improved Inmate Health Care Quality and Cost Controls" - that criticized CDCR's underreliance on telemedicine and encouraged the state to integrate telemedicine into daily care. 4)The need for the bill is not clear , as CDCR and the receiver intend to install telemedicine infrastructure at the Consolidated Care Center. 5)Telemedicine is the provision of interactive healthcare via telecommunication technology. Telemedicine allows patients to visit with physicians live over video for immediate care, or via recorded video/still images, patient data is stored and sent to physicians for diagnosis and follow-up treatment at a later time. 6)Related Legislation. a) AB 2222 (Galgiani) authorizes CDCR to install telemedicine fixtures and broadband infrastructure in new or existing buildings authorized pursuant to phase II of AB 900 (Solorio, 2007) CDCR Secretary. b) AB 1785 (Galgiani) Requires CDCR to maintain a statewide telemedicine services program, requires an operational telemedicine program at each institution, and expands existing telemedicine services. AB will be heard by this committee later in the month. AB 2668 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081