BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 395 (Fox) - Alcoholism and drug abuse treatment facilities.
Amended: July 10, 2013 Policy Vote: Health 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 395 would expand the types of facilities
licensed by the Department of Health Care Services as alcoholism
or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities to include
facilities that provide medical care.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs between $150,000 and $300,000 for the
development of regulations by the Department of Health Care
Services (Residential and Outpatient Program Licensing
Fund).
Ongoing costs likely in the hundreds of thousands per year
for licensing and enforcement of regulatory requirements on
treatment facilities that provide medical care (Residential
and Outpatient Program Licensing Fund).
Background: Under current law, the Department of Health Care
Services licenses and regulates residential treatment facilities
that provide recovery and detoxification services to adults who
are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. (These licensing functions
were recently transferred to the Department of Health Care
Services from the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, which
was eliminated.)
Current law does not allow operators of those licensed
facilities to provide medical care to patients. However, the
Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes has found that many
licensed facilities do provide medical care to patients, in
violation of current licensing requirements.
Proposed Law: AB 395 would expand the types of facilities
licensed by the Department of Health Care Services as alcoholism
AB 395 (Fox)
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or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities to include
facilities that provide recovery or detoxification services and
medical care.
Specific provisions of the bill would
Authorize licensed facilities to provide medical services;
Require facilities to be accredited by a national
accrediting organization;
Require facilities to include a licensed physician on the
treatment team;
Specify what types of medical services may be provided;
Require the Department of Health Care Services to report to
the Legislature by January 1, 2016 on implementation of the
bill;
Require facility operators to report any resident deaths to
the Department within 24 hours.
Related Legislation:
AB 972 (Butler, 2011) was substantially similar to this
bill. That bill was held on this committee's Suspense File
and subsequently amended to address a different subject.
AB 2221 (Beall, 2011) was substantially similar to this
bill. That bill was held on this committee's Suspense File.
AB 1055 (Chesbro, 2009) was substantially similar to this
bill. That bill was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's Suspense File.
Staff Comments: According to the Senate Office of Oversight and
Outcomes report, there has been a trend in the alcohol and drug
treatment industry in recent years away from a purely "social
model" of treatment (based on group counseling) towards a model
that incorporates more medical interventions into detoxification
and treatment. As noted above, the report indicates that there
are many treatment facilities in the state that are currently
providing medical services to residents.