BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1540|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1540
Author: Assembly Health Committee
Amended: 9/3/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 10-0, 7/8/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, DeSaulnier,
Leno, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 7/13/09
AYES: Simitian, Ashburn, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,
Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/24/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Health omnibus bill
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes various changes related to
health care service plans, public health, and Medi-Cal.
This is the annual Assembly Health Committee omnibus bill
containing numerous technical or non-controversial changes
to the laws affecting various health and human services
CONTINUED
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agencies including the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development, Department of Mental Health Care,
Department of Health Care Services, and Department of
Public Health. Many of the provisions make minor,
technical, and conforming changes, while other provisions
are substantive changes that extend sunset dates, or are
intended to improve the ability of the various agencies to
efficiently and effectively administer their respective
programs.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/09 correct grammatical
mistakes, remove double-jointing language and move one
provision from one code section to the following code
section to resolve a code conflict with AB 737 (Assembly
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee).
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the California Public Records
Act, requires certain public records to be made available
for public inspection.
Existing law, the Health Data and Advisory Council
Consolidation Act, requires every organization that
operates, conducts, or maintains a health facility to make
and file with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD), specified reports containing various
financial and patient data. Existing law requires OSHPD to
publish risk-adjusted outcome reports for coronary artery
bypass graft surgeries, as specified.
This bill provides, with respect to the above provisions,
that patient medical record numbers and any other data
elements that the office believes could be used to
determine the identity of an individual patient shall be
exempt from the disclosure requirements of the California
Public Records Act.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act
of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of
health care service plans by the Department of Managed
Health Care. Existing law provides for the regulation of
health insurers by the Department of Insurance. The
Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 authorizes
the director of the department to adopt, amend, and rescind
any rules necessary to carry out the act and requires
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health care service plans to provide certain notices.
This bill authorizes the Director to, by regulation, modify
the wording of any notice required by the act for purposes
of clarity, readability, and accuracy.
This bill makes other technical, nonsubstantive changes to
related provisions governing health care service plans.
Existing law, known as the California Safe Drinking Water
Act, requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
administer provisions relating to the regulation of
drinking water to protect public health.
Existing law requires DPH to adopt regulations it
determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of the
California Safe Drinking Water Act. Existing law requires
regulations adopted by DPH to include requirements
governing the use of point-of-entry treatment by public
water systems in lieu of centralized treatment, as
specified.
This bill requires regulations adopted by the department to
include requirements governing the use of point-of-entry
and point-of-use treatment by public water systems in lieu
of centralized treatment, as specified. This bill also
prohibits DPH from issuing or amending a permit to allow
the use of point-of-use treatment unless the department
determines, after a public hearing, that there is no
substantial community opposition. It also limits the
issuance of that permit to the lesser of three years or
until funding for centralized treatment is available.
Under existing law, when a primary drinking water standard
is not complied with, when a monitoring requirement is not
performed, or when a water purveyor fails to comply with
the conditions of a variance or exception, a public water
system is required to notify the department and users, as
specified.
This bill, if user notification is required pursuant to
this provision, requires DPH to make a reasonable effort to
ensure that notification is given.
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Existing law provides that DPH may issue a citation to a
public water system that violates the California Safe
Drinking Water Act. Existing law provides that for
noncontinuing violations of primary drinking standards,
other than turbidity, DPH may assess a civil penalty in the
citation, as specified.
This bill deletes the exemption for turbidity.
This bill makes other technical, nonsubstantive changes to
related provisions governing the issuance of citations for
violations of the California Safe Drinking Water Act.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the Department of Health Care Services and
under which qualified low-income persons receive health
care benefits. Existing law requires that health care
providers apply to, and be certified by, the department
prior to their participation in the Medi-Cal program.
Existing law allows the department to grant provisional
provider status or preferred provisional provider status to
an applicant or provider, and requires the department to
terminate that status if any specified grounds exist.
This bill corrects obsolete references in the above
provisions.
Under existing law, the Medi-Cal program is partially
governed and funded as part of the federal Medicaid
Program. Existing law requires the department to amend the
Medicaid state plan with respect to the billing option for
services by local education agencies to ensure that schools
are reimbursed for all eligible services that they provide
that are not precluded by federal requirements. Existing
law would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2010.
This bill changes the repeal date to January 1, 2013.
Existing law establishes the Local Education Agency
Medi-Cal Recovery Account in the Special Deposit Fund, to
be used only to support the department in meeting the
requirements of the above provisions, and specifies a
formula for funding and staffing activities provided for
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under these provisions.
Existing law provides that as of January 1, 2010, unless
the Legislature enacts a new statute or extends the date
beyond January 1, 2010, all funds in the Local Education
Agency Medi-Cal Recovery Account shall be returned
proportionately to all local education agencies whose
federal Medicaid funds were used to create the account.
This bill renames the account the Local Educational Agency
Medi-Cal Recovery Fund.
This bill also provides that, as of January 1, 2013, unless
the Legislature enacts a new statute or extends the repeal
date, all funds in the Local Educational Agency Medi-Cal
Recovery Fund shall be returned proportionally to all local
educational agencies whose federal Medicaid funds were used
to create the Fund.
Existing law, until January 1, 2011, requests the
University of California to establish the California Health
Benefit Review Program (CHBRP) to assess legislation
proposing a mandated health benefit or service, as defined,
to be provided by health care service plans and health
insurers, and to prepare a written analysis in accordance
with specified criteria.
This bill extends the repeal date of the above provisions
to June 30, 2015.
Existing law requests the University of California (UC) to
submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature no
later than January 1, 2010, regarding the implementation of
the above provisions.
This bill, instead, requests the UC to submit a report no
later than January 1, 2014.
Existing law, for fiscal years 2006-07 to 2009-10,
inclusive, provides funding for the UC's implementation of
the above provisions from a fee imposed upon health care
service plans and health insurers, which would not exceed a
total of $2,000,000, and is to be deposited in the Health
Care Benefits Fund.
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This bill, instead, provides for the imposition of that fee
for fiscal years 2010-11 to 2014-15, inclusive.
Existing law requires DPH to maintain a program for the
control of tuberculosis. Existing law, until January 1,
2011, requires a local health department that elects to
participate in the program to provide for certification for
one year, by the local health officer, of tuberculin skin
test technicians.
This bill deletes the repeal date of these provisions,
thereby extending the operation of these provisions
indefinitely.
This bill incorporates additional changes to Section
6276.24 of the Government Code proposed by SB 359 (Romero)
that would become operative only if SB 359 and this bill
are both chaptered and become effective on or before
January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill
incorporates additional changes to Section 14043.28 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 839 (Emmerson)
that become operative only if AB 839 and this bill are both
chaptered and become effective on or before January 1,
2010, and this bill is chaptered last.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DMHC regulations $85 $85 $0
Special*
CHBRP sunset up to $2,000 up to $2,000up to
$2,000 Special
Extension fully offset by specified health care
service
plan and health insurer assessments)
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LEA Medi-Cal up to $1,500 up to $1,500up to
$1,500 Federal
Recovery Fund (fully offset by LEA
federal Medicaid funds)
sunset extension
* Managed Care Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/09)
California Hospital Association
California Medical Association
California Society for Clinical Social Work
Department of Health Care Services
Department of Managed Health Care
Department of Public Health
Health and Human Services Agency
Health Officers Association of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Bass
RJG:mw 9/4/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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