CHAPTER _______

An act to amend Section 3502.3 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 2708 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to physician assistants.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1083, Pavley. Physician assistants: disability certifications.

The Physician Assistant Practice Act authorizes a delegation of services agreement to authorize a physician assistant to engage in specified activities.

Existing law requires a claimant for unemployment compensation disability benefits to establish medical eligibility for each uninterrupted period of disability by filing a first claim for disability benefits supported by the certificate of a treating physician or practitioner that establishes the sickness, injury, or pregnancy of the employee, or the condition of the family member that warrants the care of the employee. Existing law defines the term “practitioner” to mean a person duly licensed or certified in California acting within the scope of his or her license or certification who is a dentist, podiatrist, or a nurse practitioner, as prescribed.

This bill would amend the Physician Assistant Practice Act to authorize a physician assistant to certify disability, after performance of a physical examination by the physician assistant under the supervision of a physician and surgeon consistent with the act. The bill would correspondingly expand the definition of practitioner to include a physician assistant. This bill would require the Employment Development Department to implement these provisions on or before January 1, 2017.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 3502.3 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

3502.3.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to any other practices that meet the general criteria set forth in this chapter or the Medical Board of California’s regulations for inclusion in a delegation of services agreement, a delegation of services agreement may authorize a physician assistant to do any of the following:

(1) Order durable medical equipment, subject to any limitations set forth in Section 3502 or the delegation of services agreement. Notwithstanding that authority, nothing in this paragraph shall operate to limit the ability of a third-party payer to require prior approval.

(2) For individuals receiving home health services or personal care services, after consultation with the supervising physician, approve, sign, modify, or add to a plan of treatment or plan of care.

(3) After performance of a physical examination by the physician assistant under the supervision of a physician and surgeon consistent with this chapter, certify disability pursuant to Section 2708 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. The Employment Development Department shall implement this paragraph on or before January 1, 2017.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the validity of any delegation of services agreement in effect prior to the enactment of this section or those adopted subsequent to enactment.

SEC. 2.  

Section 2708 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 350 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended to read:

2708.  

(a) (1) In accordance with the director’s authorized regulations, and except as provided in subdivision (c) and Sections 2708.1 and 2709, a claimant shall establish medical eligibility for each uninterrupted period of disability by filing a first claim for disability benefits supported by the certificate of a treating physician or practitioner that establishes the sickness, injury, or pregnancy of the employee, or the condition of the family member that warrants the care of the employee. For subsequent periods of uninterrupted disability after the period covered by the initial certificate or any preceding continued claim, a claimant shall file a continued claim for those benefits supported by the certificate of a treating physician or practitioner. A certificate filed to establish medical eligibility for the employee’s own sickness, injury, or pregnancy shall contain a diagnosis and diagnostic code prescribed in the International Classification of Diseases, or, if no diagnosis has yet been obtained, a detailed statement of symptoms.

(2) A certificate filed to establish medical eligibility of the employee’s own sickness, injury, or pregnancy shall also contain a statement of medical facts, including secondary diagnoses when applicable, within the physician’s or practitioner’s knowledge, based on a physical examination and a documented medical history of the claimant by the physician or practitioner, indicating the physician’s or practitioner’s conclusion as to the claimant’s disability, and a statement of the physician’s or practitioner’s opinion as to the expected duration of the disability.

(b) An employee shall be required to file a certificate to establish eligibility when taking leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. The certificate shall be developed by the department. In order to establish medical eligibility of the serious health condition of the family member that warrants the care of the employee, the information shall be within the physician’s or practitioner’s knowledge and shall be based on a physical examination and documented medical history of the family member and shall contain all of the following:

(1) A diagnosis and diagnostic code prescribed in the International Classification of Diseases, or, if no diagnosis has yet been obtained, a detailed statement of symptoms.

(2) The date, if known, on which the condition commenced.

(3) The probable duration of the condition.

(4) An estimate of the amount of time that the physician or practitioner believes the employee needs to care for the child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner.

(5) (A) A statement that the serious health condition warrants the participation of the employee to provide care for his or her child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner.

(B) “Warrants the participation of the employee” includes, but is not limited to, providing psychological comfort, and arranging “third party” care for the child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner, as well as directly providing, or participating in, the medical care.

(c) The department shall develop a certification form for bonding that is separate and distinct from the certificate required in subdivision (a) for an employee taking leave to bond with a minor child within the first year of the child’s birth or placement in connection with foster care or adoption.

(d) The first and any continuing claim of an individual who obtains care and treatment outside this state shall be supported by a certificate of a treating physician or practitioner duly licensed or certified by the state or foreign country in which the claimant is receiving the care and treatment. If a physician or practitioner licensed by and practicing in a foreign country is under investigation by the department for filing false claims and the department does not have legal remedies to conduct a criminal investigation or prosecution in that country, the department may suspend the processing of all further certifications until the physician or practitioner fully cooperates, and continues to cooperate, with the investigation. A physician or practitioner licensed by, and practicing in, a foreign country who has been convicted of filing false claims with the department may not file a certificate in support of a claim for disability benefits for a period of five years.

(e) For purposes of this part:

(1) “Physician” has the same meaning as defined in Section 3209.3 of the Labor Code.

(2) (A) “Practitioner” means a person duly licensed or certified in California acting within the scope of his or her license or certification who is a dentist, podiatrist, or a nurse practitioner, and in the case of a nurse practitioner, after performance of a physical examination by a nurse practitioner and collaboration with a physician and surgeon, or as to normal pregnancy or childbirth, a midwife or nurse midwife, or nurse practitioner.

(B) “Practitioner” also means a physician assistant who has performed a physical examination under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. Funds appropriated to cover the costs required to implement this subparagraph shall come from the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund. This subparagraph shall be implemented on or before January 1, 2017.

(f) For a claimant who is hospitalized in or under the authority of a county hospital in this state, a certificate of initial and continuing medical disability, if any, shall satisfy the requirements of this section if the disability is shown by the claimant’s hospital chart, and the certificate is signed by the hospital’s registrar. For a claimant hospitalized in or under the care of a medical facility of the United States government, a certificate of initial and continuing medical disability, if any, shall satisfy the requirements of this section if the disability is shown by the claimant’s hospital chart, and the certificate is signed by a medical officer of the facility duly authorized to do so.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the department from requesting additional medical evidence to supplement the first or any continued claim if the additional evidence can be procured without additional cost to the claimant. The department may require that the additional evidence include any or all of the following:

(1) Identification of diagnoses.

(2) Identification of symptoms.

(3) A statement setting forth the facts of the claimant’s disability. The statement shall be completed by any of the following individuals:

(A) The physician or practitioner treating the claimant.

(B) The registrar, authorized medical officer, or other duly authorized official of the hospital or health facility treating the claimant.

(C) An examining physician or other representative of the department.

(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

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