BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2280
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2280 (Leno)
As Amended August 22, 2006
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(May 30, 2006) |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2006) |
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Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY : Permits a physician or nurse practitioner, who
diagnoses a sexually transmitted gonorrhea infection, or other
sexually transmitted infection as determined by DHS, to
prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription
antibiotic drugs to that patient's sexual partner or partners
without examination.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill
and instead permit a physician or nurse practitioner, who
diagnoses a sexually transmitted gonorrhea infection, or other
sexually transmitted infection as determined by DHS, to
prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription
antibiotic drugs to that patient's sexual partner or partners
without examination.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required DHS, no later than July 1, 2007, to develop a
counseling model for all persons who receive HIV testing at an
alternative test site or clinic that receives state funding
for HIV testing. Required DHS, in developing the counseling
model, to seek input from stakeholders, including, but not
limited to, local health jurisdictions and organizations that
receive state funding for HIV testing. Required DHS to
consider specific factors in the counseling model.
2)Required DHS to develop a reimbursement schedule that
accurately reflects the range of services provided under this
model. Required the reimbursement schedule to ensure that a
contractor is reimbursed for individual services, as defined
in the counseling model.
3)Stated Legislative intent that the reimbursement schedule be
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designed to encourage contractors to provide only those
services that are appropriate for each test subject and that
this new model and reimbursement schedule be cost-neutral,
except to the extent that there is an increase in the volume
of test subjects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill was substantially amended
subsequent to its analysis in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill seeks to address
an important issue related to the prevention of sexually
transmitted disease (STD) by expanding authorization for
patient-delivered therapy currently permitted for the sex
partners of persons diagnosed with chlamydia to also include the
partners of those diagnosed with gonorrhea. This bill will
reduce persistent and recurrent gonorrhea infections by
expanding a successful practice already in place for chlamydia.
It will also grant new and appropriate authority to DHS
regarding PDT. Authorizing qualified medical practitioners to
provide patient-delivered therapy to the sex partners of
patients diagnosed with gonorrhea is a sensible public health
measure for California.
A February 2005 article published in the New England Journal of
Medicine found that Expedited treatment of sex partners reduces
the rates of persistent or recurrent gonorrhea or chlamydial
infection. The authors randomly assigned women and heterosexual
men with gonorrhea or chlamydial infection to have their
partners receive expedited treatment or standard referral.
Patients in the expedited-treatment group were offered
medication to give to their sex partners, or if they preferred,
study staff members contacted partners and provided them with
medication without a clinical examination. Patients assigned to
expedited treatment of sexual partners were significantly more
likely than those assigned to standard referral of partners to
report that all of their partners were treated and significantly
less likely to report having sex with an untreated partner.
Patient-delivered therapy for chlamydia was authorized in
California by the passage of SB 648 (Ortiz), Chapter 835,
Statutes of 2000, which enables qualified medical practitioners
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to provide prescription antibiotic drugs to a patient's sexual
partner or partners without examination of that patient's
partner or partners. According to the author, since enactment
of SB 648, patient-delivered therapy for chlamydia published
studies have documented that the rate of persistent or recurrent
infections of gonorrhea also can be reduced by utilizing
patient-delivered therapy for sex partners.
Analysis Prepared by : Melanie Moreno / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0017031