BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 613
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
613 (Allen)
As Amended July 6, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Health |18-0 |Bonta, Maienschein, | |
| | |Bonilla, Burke, Chiu, | |
| | |Gomez, Gonzalez, | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Lackey, McCarty, | |
| | |Nazarian, Patterson, | |
| | |Ridley-Thomas, | |
| | |Rodriguez, Steinorth, | |
| | |Thurmond, Waldron, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Aging |7-0 |Brown, Hadley, | |
| | |Gipson, Gray, Levine, | |
| | |Lopez, Mathis | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
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|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
convene and appoint the members of a workgroup to update the
2008 Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease Management (Guidelines)
in California to address changes in the health care system and
requires DPH to submit a report on the workgroup updates and
recommendations to the Legislature on or before March 1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, a negligible fiscal impact, including a total
estimated cost to update the Guidelines of $120,000.
COMMENTS: According to the author, Alzheimer's disease is a
public health crisis in California, but unlike other public
health concerns there is no known cause, cure or prevention to
reduce the impact on individuals, families, communities, and our
state's public programs such as Medi-Cal and In-Home Supportive
Services. The author states that there has been a 42% increase
in Alzheimer's diagnosis in just the last decade.
1)Alzheimer's disease. California's aging population is growing
rapidly and also becoming more racially and culturally
diverse. The population of individuals over age 65 will
increase by 27% for young retirees (aged 65-74) and 10% for
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mature retirees (aged 75-84) by the year 2017. Additionally,
the number of adults with disabilities in California is
expected to grow by approximately 20% in the next 20 years.
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are on the rise and
projected to affect an estimated 1.1 million Californians by
2030. According to the federal National Institute on Aging
(NIA), Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible, progressive
brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills,
and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest
tasks. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that as many as
five million Americans age 65 and older may have Alzheimer's
disease.
2)2008 Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease Management. The
"Guideline for Alzheimer's Disease Management - California
Workgroup on Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease Management
Final Report 2008" was published to update and expand previous
guidelines issued in 2002 and 1998. The 1998 effort was paid
for through a Health Resources and Services Administration
grant. The guidelines were based upon work begun by the Ad
Hoc Standards of Care Committee of the Alzheimer's Disease
Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (ADDTCs) of California and
were supported in part by the State of California, Department
of Health Services, and the Alzheimer's Association,
California. Southland Chapter.
The 2008 Guidelines state that most older adults, including
those with Alzheimer's Disease, receive their medical care
from primary care practitioners (PCPs) who may lack the
information and other resources they need to treat this
growing and demanding population. The 2008 Guideline was
intended to provide assistance to PCPs in offering
comprehensive care to patients with Alzheimer's Disease and
those who care for them over the course of their illness. The
Guideline's recommendations are organized by major care issues
(assessment, treatment, patient and family education and
support, and legal considerations). Each section of the
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guidelines deals with one of the four care issues and provides
an overview of the issue, followed by the care recommendations
and a review of the literature supporting them. The language
used throughout the report reflects the strength of the
supporting evidence, either "strong" (e.g., randomized
clinical trial) or "moderate." In some instances,
recommendations that are not evidence-based are nevertheless
supported by expert opinion and workgroup consensus, and are
labeled as such.
This bill is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association to update
California's physician Guideline for Alzheimer's Disease
Management to improve quality of care and support for
individuals diagnosed with dementia, manage complex, costly
populations in our health care delivery system, and reduce
individual, family, and government health care costs. The
Alzheimer's Association states this bill draws on the existing
resources and expertise within DPH's 10 university-affiliated
Alzheimer's Disease Centers to review and analyze evidence in
support of a state-of-the-art guideline for Alzheimer's disease
management. The Alzheimer's Association further states that
Medi-Cal beneficiaries with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
have 19 times higher costs than those without a cognitive
impairment. Likewise, patients with dementia use hospitals and
nursing facilities at more than triple the rate without
Alzheimer's. The Alzheimer's Association concludes that the
development of a physician Guideline for Alzheimer's Disease
Management advances public policy for patients, physicians and
government payors.
The National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter,
and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO state in support of the bill that currently
over 60,000 people with dementia are enrolled in California's
Coordinated Care Initiative. Supporters further state that the
Medicaid cost of care for seniors with Alzheimer's disease and
other dementias is 19 times higher than the average per person
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spending for all seniors. Supporters conclude that dementia
care management has been proven to improve the affected
population's health, provide a better experience of care, and
lower per capita health care costs.
There is no known opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Paula Villescaz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0001672