BILL NUMBER: AB 2699 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bass
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 900 of, and to add Section 901 to, the
Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2699, as introduced, Bass. Healing arts: licensure exemption:
immunity from liability.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various
healing arts practitioners by boards within the Department of
Consumer Affairs. Existing law provides an exemption from these
requirements for a healing arts practitioner licensed in another
state who offers or provides health care for which he or she is
licensed during a state of emergency, as defined, and upon request of
the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority, as
specified.
This bill would also provide an exemption from the licensure and
regulation requirements for a healing arts practitioner, as defined,
licensed in another state who offers or provides health care for
which he or she is licensed (1) to uninsured or underinsured persons,
(2) on a short-term voluntary basis (3) in association with a
sponsoring entity that registers with the Medical Board of California
and provides certain information to the county health department of
the county in which the care will be provided, and (4) without charge
to the recipient or a 3rd party on behalf of the recipient, as
specified. The bill would grant that practitioner and the sponsoring
entity immunity from liability for any injury sustained by a person
by reason of the services provided under this provision, except as
specified. This bill would also prohibit a contract of liability
insurance issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2011,
from excluding coverage of these practitioners or a sponsoring entity
for providing care under these provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 900 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
900. (a) Nothing in this division applies to a health care
practitioner licensed in another state or territory of the United
States who offers or provides health care for which he or she is
licensed, if the health care is provided only during a state of
emergency as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8558 of the
Government Code, which emergency overwhelms the response capabilities
of California health care practitioners and only upon the request of
the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority.
(b) The director shall be the medical control and shall designate
the licensure and specialty health care practitioners required for
the specific emergency and shall designate the areas to which they
may be deployed.
(c) Health care practitioners shall provide, upon request, a valid
copy of a professional license and a photograph identification
issued by the state in which the practitioner holds licensure before
being deployed by the director.
(d) Health care practitioners deployed pursuant to this chapter
shall provide the appropriate California licensing authority with
verification of licensure upon request.
(e) Health care practitioners providing health care pursuant to
this chapter shall have immunity from liability for services rendered
as specified in Section 8659 of the Government Code.
(f) For the purposes of this chapter
section , "health care practitioner" means any person who
engages in acts which are the subject of licensure or regulation
under this division or under any initiative act referred to in this
division.
(g) For purposes of this chapter section
, "director" means the Director of the Emergency Medical
Services Authority who shall have the powers specified in Division
2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 2. Section 901 is added to the Business and Professions Code,
to read:
901. (a) For purposes of this section, the following provisions
apply:
(1) "Board" means the Medical Board of California.
(2) "Health care practitioner" means a physician and surgeon,
osteopathic physician and surgeon, chiropractor, dentist, dental
hygienist, nurse, vocational nurse, optometrist, or physician
assistant.
(3) "Sponsoring entity" may include, but is not limited to, a
nonprofit organization or a community-based organization.
(4) "Uninsured or underinsured person" means a person who does not
have health care coverage, including private coverage or coverage
through a program funded in whole or in part by a governmental
entity, or a person who has health care coverage, but the coverage
does not extend to the health care services offered by the health
care practitioner under this section.
(b) Nothing in this division applies to a health care practitioner
licensed in good standing in another state, district, or territory
of the United States who offers or provides health care for which he
or she is licensed if both of the following requirements are met:
(1) Prior to providing that care, he or she submits to the board a
valid copy of his or her license and a photographic identification
issued by the state in which he or she holds licensure.
(2) The care is provided under all of the following circumstances:
(A) To uninsured or underinsured persons.
(B) On a short-term voluntarily basis, not to exceed a 90-day
period.
(C) In association with a sponsoring entity that complies with
subdivision (c).
(D) Without charge to the recipient or to a third party on behalf
of the recipient.
(c) A sponsoring entity seeking to provide, or arrange for the
provision of, health care under this section shall do both of the
following:
(1) Register with the board by completing a registration form that
shall include all of the following elements:
(A) The name of the entity.
(B) The name of the principal individual or individuals who are
the officers or organizational officials responsible for the
operation of the entity.
(C) The address, including street, city, Zip Code, and county, of
the entity's principal office and each individual listed pursuant to
subparagraph (B).
(D) The telephone number for the principal office of the entity
and each individual listed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(E) Any additional information required by the board.
(2) Provide the information listed in paragraph (1) to the county
health department of the county in which the care will be provided,
along with any additional information that may be required by that
department.
(d) The sponsoring entity shall notify the board and the county
health department identified in subdivision (c) in writing of any
change to the information required under subdivision (c) within 30
days of the change.
(e) Within 15 days of the provision of health care pursuant to
this section, the sponsoring entity shall file a report with the
board and the county health department of the county in which the
care was provided. This report shall contain the date, place, type,
and general description of the care provided, along with a listing of
the health care practitioners who participated in providing that
care.
(f) The sponsoring entity shall maintain a list of health care
practitioners associated with the provision of health care under this
section. The entity shall maintain a copy of each health care
practitioner's current license and shall require each health care
practitioner to attest in writing that his or her license is not
suspended or revoked pursuant to disciplinary proceedings in any
jurisdiction. The entity shall maintain these records for a period of
at least five years following the provision of health care under
this section and shall, upon request, furnish those records to the
board, any healing arts board under this division or an initiative
act referred to in this division, or any county health department.
(g) The board may revoke the registration of a sponsoring entity
that fails to comply with subdivision (e) or (f).
(h) A contract of liability insurance issued, amended, or renewed
in this state on or after January 1, 2011, shall not exclude coverage
of a health care practitioner or a sponsoring entity that provides,
or arranges for the provision of, health care under this section,
provided that the practitioner or entity complies with this section.
(i) Health care practitioners and sponsoring entities providing,
or arranging to provide, health care pursuant to this section shall
have no liability for any injury sustained by any person by reason of
that care, regardless of how or under what circumstances or by what
cause those injuries are sustained, except in the case of a willful
act or omission.
(j) Subdivisions (b) and (i) shall not apply to a health care
practitioner who renders care outside the scope of practice
authorized by his or her license.