BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1578 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1578 (Rodriguez) - As Amended April 19, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Health |Vote:|18 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill appropriates $2 million from the General Fund (GF) to the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to provide maintenance and upkeep of mobile field hospitals (MFHs) within the Mobile Field Hospital Program. It also contains an urgency clause. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 1578 Page 2 1)$2 million GF one-time to EMSA. EMSA indicates $900,000 would be sufficient to bring all three MFHs to immediate deployable status and $1.1 million would provide for one year of ongoing maintenance and deployment capability for two Sacramento-based MFHs. 2)Ongoing cost pressure of $2 million GF annually to maintain funding for MFHs brought into deployment status. The maintenance for each of the three MFHs is estimated to cost $600,000, with an additional cost of $175,000 to $250,000 to store a hospital in the Los Angeles area. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, California currently owns three mobile field hospital units with combined bed capacities in excess of 600 beds. He indicates by not maintaining these assets, the state has in effect gambled that it would not experience a major disaster. While we are fortunate that a major disaster has not occurred, the author indicates a modest investment in these hospitals will augment medical capability and save lives if one should occur. 2)Background. In 2007, the state purchased three MFHs with the intent to replace or augment acute hospital care capacity during catastrophic emergencies. Assembly Bill 1811 (Laird, Chapter 48, Statutes of 2006) authorized the purchase of the three MFHs at an initial GF cost of $18.3 million. Additionally, $1.7 million GF was authorized in FY 2006-07 to provide for ongoing costs associated with program staff, storage, maintenance and readiness. These ongoing funds were eliminated in FY 2011-12. The MFHs have been deployed three times for exercises and put on alert several times for actual AB 1578 Page 3 disasters, but never deployed for a response to a real event. Each MFH can be deployed as a 200-bed fully functional acute care hospital facility which includes an emergency department, surgery suites, intensive care, a pharmacy, and other units. Currently, all three MFHs are stored in the Sacramento area in delayed deployment status and would take significant refurbishment, restocking, and time to be brought into deployment status. 3)Prior Budget Actions. Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services approved an appropriation of $1.96 million GF to EMSA on May 23, 2014 to be used for the department's MFH program. This sum, however, was not approved during the budget process. 4)Related Legislation. AB 1827 (Kim), which was heard but not voted on in Assembly Health Committee on April 12, 2016, is similar to this bill. 5)Prior Legislation. AB 355 (Cooley) of 2013 would have appropriated $1 million from the GF to EMSA to continue the MFH Program. AB 355 was held on the Suspense File of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 1578 Page 4