BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2616
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2616 (Skinner)
          As Amended  August 18, 2014
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |48-26|(May 28, 2014)  |SENATE: |24-9 |(August 20,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2014)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    PUB. S.  

           SUMMARY  :  Extends to certain hospital employees who provide  
          direct patient care the presumption that methicillin-resistant  
          Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are presumed to be job  
          related.  

           The Senate amendments  add the proposed new presumptive injuries  
          to the list of existing presumptive injuries for which a  
          treating physician is not required to apportion causation for  
          disability purposes to either nonindustrial, or prior  
          industrial, injuries.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes a comprehensive system of workers' compensation  
            benefits for injuries, including diseases, that arise out of  
            and in the course of employment.  The benefits include full  
            medical benefits to treat the injury or condition,  
            indemnification for temporary and permanent disability, and  
            death benefits.

          2)Requires in most cases that the employee prove that the injury  
            or condition underlying the claim arose out of and in the  
            course of employment.

          3)Provides safety officers (specified police, sheriff, and  
            firefighter employees) with a presumption that certain  
            injuries or conditions are related to employment.  The list of  
            conditions or injuries for which presumptions apply include  
            cancer, heart trouble, blood-borne pathogens, hernia,  
            tuberculosis, as well as MRSA.

           1)FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
            Committee, this bill would apply to several state-run  








                                                                  AB 2616
                                                                  Page  2

            facilities, namely, state hospitals, developmental centers,  
            and correctional treatment facilities that are all funded  
            through General Fund (GF) dollars.  The number of additional  
            MRSA cases among state-employed direct care nursing staff is  
            as a result of the presumption is likely to be small.   
            However, if even one additional MRSA-related workers'  
            compensation claims was filed and approved as a result of this  
            presumption, the cost could easily be in excess of $200,000  
            GF.  

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)Minor Senate amendment.  Under existing law, most injuries  
            that result in partial or total permanent disability are  
            subject to a physician evaluating whether or not some portion  
            of that disability is caused by a non-industrial injury, or by  
            a prior industrial injury.  This evaluation process is termed  
            "apportionment."  However, injuries that a presumed to be  
            work-related pursuant to existing law are not subject to  
            apportionment.  The Senate amendments merely add this new MRSA  
            presumption to the list of injuries for which apportionment  
            does not apply.  
           
          2)Prior legislation.  AB 664 (Skinner) of 2009 and AB 1994  
            (Skinner) of 2010 proposed including nurses in the full range  
            of presumptions afforded safety officers.  AB 664 and AB 1994  
            were held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense  
            file.  AB 375 (Skinner) of 2011 initially was similar to AB  
            664 and AB 1994, but was narrowed to include fewer of the  
            presumptions.  It failed passage on the Senate Floor.  AB 808  
            (Skinner) of 2012 was identical to AB 2616 in the form  
            currently before the Insurance Committee, but was held on the  
            Senate inactive file.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086


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