BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 623 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 16, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 623 (Kehoe) - As Amended: August 7, 2012 Policy Committee: HealthVote:13-6 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) to extend a pilot project training mid-level medical practitioners to perform aspiration abortions by 15 months until January 1, 2014, in order to allow time to evaluate and publish results of the pilot. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state fiscal impact. COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The author indicates this bill is necessary to allow a pilot project to maintain its momentum, and to allow study researchers from the University of California time to achieve publication of their study results in a peer-reviewed journal. The author indicates study results thus far indicate midlevel clinicians can be trained to safely provide first-trimester aspiration abortions. 2)Background . Current law authorizes OSHPD to conduct pilot projects, which sometimes waive certain scope of practice laws, in order to study new workforce models or training methods. OSPHD accepts applications for workforce pilot projects from project sponsors. Sponsors who apply for a pilot project must have their own funding; OSHPD does not provide any funding for pilot projects. OSHPD has one budgeted position monitoring all open pilot projects. OSHPD approved Health Workforce Pilot Project # 171 for the time period March 31, 2007 - March 31, 2008, and has approved SB 623 Page 2 four extensions since that time. The project is currently approved through September 30, 2012. It is assessing the ability of nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistance to be trained to offer vacuum aspiration for abortion and miscarriage management. Vacuum aspiration is a minor surgical procedure that can be used in early pregnancy and uses gentle vacuum suction to remove uterine tissue. 3)Opposition. Several groups opposed to abortion oppose this bill. The California Right to Life Committee, Inc. believes the extension of this project places women's health and safety in danger and removes their right of choice to control their own health care decisions. The Life Priority Network (LPN) questions whether patient safety can be assured if qualified physicians are not available. California Catholic Conference, Inc. (CCC) writes in opposition that this bill is a late introduction gut-and-amend bill, designed to address the failure of SB 1338 (Kehoe) earlier this year. (This bill was heard in this form for the first time on July 3, 2012 in Assembly Health Committee). 4)Related Legislation. SB 1338 would have allowed a NP, CNM, and PA who had completed training in the Project to continue to perform abortions by aspiration technique. SB 1338 failed passage in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081