BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2566
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 21, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                AB 2566 (Carter) - As Introduced:  February 19, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Business &  
          Professions  Vote:                            11-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill clarifies enforcement of the Corporate Practice of  
          Medicine with respect to physician-owned medi-spas.  
          Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Defines outpatient elective cosmetic medical procedures. 

          2)Specifies that medi-spa businesses are guilty of perpetrating  
            health care fraud under the Penal Code if they violate CPM  
            statutes. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Unknown, likely minor increases in Medical Board of California  
          (MBC) enforcement workload and fines related to violations of  
          Corporate Practice of Medicine prohibitions. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill is sponsored by the American Society for  
            Dermatological Surgery and is generally declarative of current  
            law and practice. This bill clarifies enforcement mechanisms  
            to address the increase in cosmetic surgery provided at  
            medi-spas for procedures such as laser hair removal and skin  
            resurfacing. 

           2)The Corporate Practice of Medicine  refers to prohibitions in  
            California law that most often refers to ban on the employment  
            of physicians by hospitals. California's prohibitions in this  
            area are some of the strongest in the country. Current law  
            makes exceptions for employment of doctors by teaching  








                                                                  AB 2566
                                                                  Page  2

            hospitals, some community clinics, and some non-profit  
            organizations. Under current law the practice of having a  
            physician serve as a supervisor only on paper is illegal. This  
            bill provides greater enforcement specificity by linking  
            cosmetic surgery spas more closely with current prohibitions  
            related to medi-spa ownership and practice. 

           3)Related Legislation  . AB 252 (Carter) in 2009 was similar to  
            this bill and vetoed due to concern that the bill was  
            duplicative of current law. AB 2398 (Nakanishi) in 2008 also  
            addressed a similar subject and failed passage on the Senate  
            Floor. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081