BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 297|
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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 Le�n, 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.
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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
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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, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Hall, Jones, Williams, Vacancy
JL:k 7/2/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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