BILL NUMBER: SB 616	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator DeSaulnier

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act relating to public health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 616, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Wellness Program Demonstration
Project.
   Existing law establishes various programs to prevent disease and
promote health. Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, by July 1, 2014, establishes a 10-state Wellness
Program Demonstration Project to promote health and prevent disease.

   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to create a wellness program to prevent disease and
promote health that meets all necessary federal qualifications for
California to be a participating pilot state.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The President of the United States signed comprehensive health
reform into law on March 23, 2010. The federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) and the federal Health
Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152)
represent a significant reform of the nation's health delivery
system, including many provisions designed to promote prevention,
wellness, and patient-centered health outcomes.
   (b) Federal health reform has several provisions that focus on
prevention and health promotion, including community-based obesity
prevention programs, community transformation grants, nutrition
labeling, individualized wellness plan pilots, and workplace wellness
programs.
   (c) California has a strong history of public health prevention
programs, including, but not limited to, one of the nation's leading
tobacco control programs. Since 1989, there has been a 35 percent
decrease in smoking prevalence, a 61 percent decline in per capita
cigarette consumption, and a decrease in lung cancer incidence that
is over three times the rate of decline seen in the rest of the
nation. Collectively, the program's efforts have saved the state $86
billion in direct health care costs.
   (d) Unfortunately, California's priority populations remain at
greater risk of tobacco use, disease, and death. African American
males continue to have the highest smoking prevalence, 21.3 percent,
compared to their counterparts in all other major race and ethnicity
groups who smoke at a range between 14.9 percent and 17.2 percent,
inclusive. African American and non-Hispanic white females also have
significantly higher smoking prevalence rates, of 17.3 percent and
12.5 percent respectively, compared to Hispanic and Asian and Pacific
Islander females whose smoking prevalence rates are 7.1 percent and
5.5 percent, respectively. However, the most startling evidence of
disparity lies with smoking prevalence among low-income populations.
   (e) California will be a national model for public health
interventions and prevention and wellness programs. Communities and
individuals must be empowered to make changes that best address their
circumstances and resource needs.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
to create a wellness program to prevent disease and promote health.
This program should meet all necessary federal qualifications for
California to be a participating pilot state in the Wellness Program
Demonstration Project that will be established no later than July 1,
2014, in accordance with Section 1201 of the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148).