BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 250|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 250
Author: Obernolte (R)
Amended: 6/16/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/15/15
AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Telehealth: marriage and family therapist interns
and trainees
SOURCE: California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists
DIGEST: This bill authorizes marriage and family therapist
(MFT) interns and trainees working under licensed supervision to
provide services via telehealth.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the Board of Behavioral Sciences (Board) to license
and regulate the practice of marriage and family therapy and
licensed professional clinical counseling. (Business and
AB 250
Page 2
Professions Code (BPC) §§ 4980.34, 4999.14)
2)Defines "telehealth" to mean the mode of delivering health
care services and public health via information and
communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis,
consultation, treatment, education, care management and
self-management of a patient's health care service while the
patient is at the originating site and the health care
provider is at a distant site; telehealth facilitates patient
self-management and caregiver support for patients and
includes synchronous interactions and asynchronous store and
forward transfers. (BPC § 2290.5(a)(6))
3)Requires a licensed health care practitioner providing
services via telehealth to be subject to the requirements and
definitions set forth in existing law, as specified, to the
practice act relating to his or her licensed profession, and
to the regulations adopted by a board pursuant to that
practice act. (BPC § 686)
4)Defines "health care provider" for purposes of telehealth to
mean a person who is licensed under BPC. (BPC § 2290.5
(a)(3))
5)States that, unless otherwise expressly provided, "license"
means license, certificate, registration, or other means to
engage in a business or profession, as specified. (BPC §
23.7)
6)Defines a MFT "intern" to mean an unlicensed person who has
earned his or her master's or doctor's degree qualifying him
or her for licensure and is registered with the Board. (BPC §
4980.03(b)).
7)Defines an MFT "trainee" to mean an unlicensed person who is
currently enrolled in a master's or doctor's degree program,
as specified, that is designed to qualify him or her for
licensure, and who has completed no less than 12 semester
units or 18 quarter units of coursework in any qualifying
degree program. (BPC § 4980.03(c))
8)Requires a MFT applicant for licensure to complete no more
than 375 hours of experience providing personal psychotherapy,
crisis counseling, or other counseling services via
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telehealth, as specified. (BPC § 4980.43 (a)(11))
9)Requires an applicant for a professional clinical counselor
license to complete a minimum of 3,000 postdegree hours of
supervised clinical mental health experience related to the
practice of professional clinical counseling, which may
include not more than 375 hours of experience providing
personal psychotherapy, crisis counseling, or other counseling
services via telehealth. (BPC § 4999.46)
This bill:
1)Expands the definition of a health care provider to include a
MFT intern or trainee for purposes of providing telehealth
services.
2)Authorizes MFT interns and trainees working under licensed
supervision to provide services via telehealth within the
scope authorized by the Marriage and Family Therapist Act
(Act) and in accordance with any regulations governing the use
of telehealth promulgated by the Board.
Background
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and
telecommunications technologies to support long-distance
clinical health care, patient and professional health-related
education, and public health. Technologies include
videoconferencing, the Internet, store-and-forward imaging,
streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.
The law establishing parameters for providing telehealth
services authorizes only licensed healthcare providers to
provide remote healthcare. However, the Act authorizes
unlicensed MFT interns and trainees to obtain experience towards
their license via telehealth. This presents a disconnect in
code.
This bill specifically authorizes an MFT intern or trainee to
practice via telehealth in both sections of code in accordance
with the Act.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
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SUPPORT: (Verified6/17/15)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(source)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
Association of California Healthcare Districts
Board of Behavioral Sciences
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
California Primary Care Association
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/17/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The sponsor of this bill, the
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists,
writes, "Telehealth affords both the patient and the health care
provider increased access, flexibility, and cost-efficiencies.
BPC § 2290.5 defines 'telehealth,' as well as states that
telehealth can be administered by a 'health care provider'
licensed under BPC § 2290.5, which includes a MFT. Moreover,
BPC § 4980.43 allows MFT trainees to obtain the necessary hours
toward their licensure by conducting therapy through telehealth
services. However, BPC § 2290.5 fails to authorize the very
same trainees to conduct telehealth services. This lack of
conformity raises concerns about trainees, and their
supervisors, being liable for performing telehealth services
without this proposed change."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
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Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina
Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
6/17/15 15:22:49
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