BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1368|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1368
Author: Senate Health Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 27
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/21/10
AYES: Alquist, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Romero
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Health care
SOURCE : Senate Health Committee
DIGEST : This bill (1) requires local emergency medical
services agencies to send Maddy Emergency Medical Services
Fund reports to the Emergency Medical Services Authority,
(2) expands the authority of the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development to insure financings that are for
the purpose of refinancing short-term loans that are
secured elsewhere to start a project, and (3) deletes
obsolete references to nonprofit hospital services plans in
the Insurance Code.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services
System and Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act
establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority within
the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide
statewide coordination of local county emergency medical
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services programs.
Existing law authorizes each county to establish an
emergency medical services fund, and makes money in the
fund available for the reimbursement of physicians,
surgeons, and hospitals for losses incurred in the
provision of emergency medical services when payment is not
otherwise made for those services. Existing law requires
each county establishing an emergency medical services fund
to report the implementation and status of the fund to the
Legislature on April 15 of each year.
This bill requires the report to be sent to the Emergency
Medical Services Authority, and requires the authority to
compile and forward a summary of each county's report to
the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature.
Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development and sets forth its powers and
duties, including, but not limited to, administration of
the California Health Facility Construction Loan Insurance
Law for the purposes of insuring health facility
construction loans. Existing law establishes the Health
Facility Construction Loan Insurance Fund and continuously
appropriates the fund to the office for these purposes.
Existing law authorizes the office to charge a premium
charge for the insurance of these loans, with the premiums
to be deposited in the fund.
This bill authorizes the office to annually charge a
portion of the premium in advance not to exceed six dollars
per year for each $1,000 of principal of the proposed loan.
The bill makes the total dollar amount of the premium
advanced nonrefundable and requires that it be credited
against the amount of the premium charged or, if the
commitment expires and the loan is not insured, the bill
requires that the advance be retained by the office to
offset costs and expenses of the office, as prescribed. By
increasing the amounts to be deposited into a continuously
appropriated fund, this bill makes an appropriation.
Existing law sets forth the conditions for loans to be
eligible for loan insurance under these provisions,
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including, but not limited to, the requirement that the
proceeds of the loan be guaranteed to be used exclusively
for the construction, improvement, or expansion of the
health facility, as approved by the office.
Existing law authorizes insurance of loans to refinance
another prior loan if the prior loan would have been
eligible at the time it was made.
This bill permits the refinancing of up to 90 percent of a
prior loan if the loan would otherwise be eligible, without
regard to whether the prior loan would have been eligible
at the time it was made.
Existing law creates the Access for Infants and Mothers
Program, which is administered by the Managed Risk Medical
Insurance Board, to provide coverage for perinatal and
infant care to residents of this state meeting certain
income and other eligibility requirements and paying
certain subscriber contributions.
Existing law creates the California Major Risk Medical
Insurance Program, which is also administered by the
Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, to provide major risk
health coverage to residents of this state who are unable
to secure adequate private health coverage because of
preexisting medical conditions and who meet other
eligibility requirements and pay certain subscriber
contributions.
This bill deletes obsolete references within these
provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/7/10)
American College of Emergency Physicians State Chapter of
California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : American College of Emergency
Physicians State Chapter of California (CAL/ACEP) states
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that, while the Maddy EMS Funds only reimburse a small
portion of the cost of care, they are nevertheless a
critical source of funding helping to preserve the
emergency care safety net. CAL/ACEP adds that a time when
cuts to coverage and services are happening at both the
state and local level while the demand for emergency
services is on the rise, it is essential to ensure that
every Maddy EMS dollar is spent to preserve the emergency
care safety net as it was intended to do. CAL/ACEP
contends that the administrative reports completed by
counties are the public's primary way to ensure Maddy EMS
Funds are being administered properly.
RJG:do 5/11/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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