BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2248
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2248 (Hernandez)
          As Amended July 15, 2010
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0 |(April 29,      |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 5,     |
          |           |     |2010)           |        |     |2010)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    HEALTH  

           SUMMARY  :  Requires each county establishing a Maddy Emergency  
          Medical Services Fund (Maddy Fund) to include in its annual  
          report to the Legislature a description of each disbursement for  
          "other emergency medical services (EMS)," if funds were  
          disbursed for this service and other additional information  
          regarding the moneys collected and disbursed.  Requires the  
          annual report to include the reason or reasons if no moneys were  
          deposited into the Maddy Fund.

           The Senate amendments  require each Maddy Fund to additionally  
          include in its annual report:

          1)The total amounts for each penalty assessment listed according  
            to the authority for the penalty assessments;

          2)A description of the process used to obtain input from  
            physicians and surgeons and hospitals in order to create the  
            claims payment methodologies;

          3)An identification of the fee schedule used by the county for  
            reimbursable services from the county's Maddy Fund;

          4)A description of the methodology used to disperse moneys to  
            hospitals providing disproportionate trauma services and EMS;

          5)The amount of moneys available to be dispersed to hospitals;  
            and,

          6)The dollar amount of the total allowable claims submitted and  
            the percentage at which those claims were reimbursed to  
            hospitals if moneys are disbursed to hospitals on a claim  
            basis.









                                                                  AB 2248
                                                                  Page  2

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes each county to establish a Maddy Fund for  
            reimbursement of EMS-related costs.

          2)Authorizes, until January 1, 2014, counties to levy an  
            additional penalty in the amount of $2 for every $10 upon  
            fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected for criminal  
            offenses for deposit into the Maddy Fund.

          3)Requires each county establishing a Maddy Fund to report  
            annually to the Legislature on the implementation and status  
            of the fund by April 15 of every year.  Specifies the report  
            to include, but not be limited to:

             a)   The total amount of fines and forfeitures collected and  
               the amount of penalty assessments deposited into the Maddy  
               Fund;

             b)   The fund balance and the amount of moneys disbursed  
               under the program to physicians and surgeons, for  
               hospitals, and for other EMS purposes;

             c)   The number of claims paid to physicians and surgeons,  
               and the percentage of claims paid, based on the uniform fee  
               schedule adopted by each county;

             d)   The amount of moneys available to be disbursed to  
               physicians and surgeons, descriptions of the physician and  
               surgeon and hospital claims payment methodologies, the  
               dollar amount of the total allowable claims submitted, and  
               the percentage at which those claims were reimbursed;

             e)   A statement of the policies, procedures, and regulatory  
               action taken to implement and run the Maddy Fund; and,

             f)   The name of the physician and surgeon and hospital  
               administrator organization, or names of specific physicians  
               and surgeons and hospital administrators, contacted to  
               review claims payment methodologies.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was substantially similar  
          to the bill as passed by the Assembly.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  








                                                                  AB 2248
                                                                  Page  3

          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, the annual reports on Maddy  
          Funds submitted to the Legislature by counties include money  
          dispersed to physicians and hospitals.  However, the report does  
          not give specific details regarding how other EMS funds are  
          appropriated and dispersed.  The author claims that there have  
          been complaints from some physicians in some counties that the  
          Maddy Fund reports do not contain sufficient information to  
          determine if the Maddy Fund is being properly administered. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Patty Rodgers / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097  



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