BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 297| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 297 Author: Chesbro (D) Amended: 7/2/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/26/13 AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/2/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Primary care clinics SOURCE : California Primary Care Association DIGEST : This bill permits a primary care clinic to submit verification of certification from the Joint Commission, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), or any other accrediting organization recognized by the Department of Public Health (DPH), to the Licensing and Certification Division within the DPH for entry into the Electronic Licensing Management System (ELMS) for purposes of data collection and extraction for licensing and certification fee calculations. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Licenses and regulates various types of clinics, including primary care clinics, by the DPH. CONTINUED AB 297 Page 2 2. Permits primary care clinics to submit to DPH verification of certification from the Joint Commission for entry into the ELMS for purposes of data collection and extraction for licensing and certification fee calculations. This bill permits a primary care clinic to submit verification of certification from the Joint Commission, the AAAHC, or any other accrediting organization recognized by the DPH, to the Licensing and Certification Division within the DPH for entry into the ELMS for purposes of data collection and extraction for licensing and certification fee calculations. Background According to DPH, the section of law this bill is amending authorizes primary care clinics to submit certification of accreditation for entry into the ELMS, which is the electronic database DPH uses to store information about licensed health facilities. DPH states that there is no requirement for a clinic to be certified by an accrediting organization, and accreditation information is not factored into the calculation of licensure fees. However, DPH waives the periodic licensing inspection requirements for those clinics that are accredited by a recognized accrediting organization. DPH states that it does not approve accrediting organizations, but recognizes those organizations that are approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as national accreditation organizations. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/13) California Primary Care Association (source) Association of California Healthcare Districts California Medical Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this bill is a technical, cleanup bill that updates obsolete language to reflect the current practice in which DPH accepts certification from AAAHC, the Joint Commission, and other CMS-approved organizations. Adopting verification from these CONTINUED AB 297 Page 3 entities in lieu of DPH site inspections expedites the process and reduces state costs that otherwise would be required for the site inspections and data collection. The fees are collected annually, and re-inspection is required every three years. This bill's sponsor, the California Primary Care Association, states that this bill is a technical clean-up bill that updates obsolete language to reflect the current practice in which DPH accepts certification from AAAHC, as well as that of the Joint Committee and CMS-approved accrediting organizations. The Association of California Healthcare Districts states that adopting verification from these accrediting entities in lieu of DPH site inspections expedites the licensing and certification processes and reduces state costs that otherwise would be required for the site inspections and data collection. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/2/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Hall, Jones, Williams, Vacancy JL:k 7/2/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED