BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 848
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
848 (Mark Stone) - As Amended May 6, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
1)This bill authorizes alcoholism and drug treatment facilities
to allow a licensed physician, or other qualified health care
practitioner, to provide incidental medical services as
defined to a resident of the facility. Requires DHCS to
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develop a standard certification form and, on or before
January 1, 2017, to adopt emergency regulations that are only
effective for 180 days or once final regulations are adopted,
whichever comes first. Exempts emergency regulations adopted
by DHCS from review by the Office of Administrative Law.
Requires DHCS to adopt final regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Significant costs to adopt emergency and final regulations,
likely in the range of $400,000 over two years (licensing fees
and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block
Grant).
2)Unknown ongoing costs to oversee this new requirement as a
component of licensure, possibly in the range of $100,000
annually (licensing fees and Substance Abuse Prevention and
Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant).
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author believes this bill will allow people to
get appropriate whole-person care that is unfortunately
unavailable at residential drug treatment facilities because
of current-law restrictions. Alcohol and drug rehabilitation
facilities cannot be licensed by DHCS if they use on-site
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doctors or other medical personnel to evaluate or provide
medical care to facility clients. This prohibition precludes
facilities from meeting the medical needs of clients that
could easily and efficiently be provided on-site. Instead, if
clients have medical needs during the course of their
residential treatment, facility staff must transport them to
doctors' offices, clinics, or hospital emergency rooms, which
can be inefficient and costly.
2)Background. An alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment
facility provides 24-hour residential non-medical services,
defined as recovery services, treatment services, and
detoxification services to adults who are recovering from
problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse
or abuse. These facilities are licensed by DHCS, formerly the
Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. They are community
facilities, not medical facilities. These facilities grew out
of a "social rehabilitation" model, which is somewhat in
conflict with the evolution of drug treatment, which often can
be medication-assisted.
A September 2012 investigative report by the Senate Office of
Oversight and Outcomes (SOOO) identified gaps in the
Department of Drug and Alcohol Program's (DADP's) regulation
of residential programs. The report recommended, among other
things, the Legislature consider approving a bill allowing
medical care in residential treatment facilities, given that
many experts believe that medical care is an integral part of
successful treatment.
3)Previous Legislation. AB 395 (Fox) of 2013, AB 972 (Butler) of
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2011, AB 2221 (Beall) of 2010, and AB 1055 (Chesbro) of 2009,
took similar approaches to include as DADP licensees
residential programs that provided some medical services. AB
395, AB 972, and AB 2221 were held on the Senate
Appropriations Suspense File. AB 1055 was held on this
committee's Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081