California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1838

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 18, 2014

An act to amend Section 901 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1838, as introduced, Bonilla. Healing arts: exemption from licensure.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts practitioners by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law, until January 1, 2018, provides an exemption from the licensure requirement for a health care practitioner licensed or certified and in good standing in another state, district, or territory of the United States, when certain requirements are satisfied and health care services are provided under specified circumstances, including that the health care services are provided to uninsured or underinsured persons at a sponsored event not exceeding 10 days.

This bill would increase the period during which a health care practitioner is exempt from licensure pursuant to these provisions from 10 days to 15 days.

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.  

Section 901 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

901.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following provisions
apply:

(1) “Board” means the applicable healing arts board, under this
division or an initiative act referred to in this division, responsible
for the licensure or regulation in this state of the respective health
care practitioners.

(2) “Health care practitioner” means any person who engages
in acts that are subject to licensure or regulation under this division
or under any initiative act referred to in this division.

(3) “Sponsored event” means an event, not to exceed begin delete 10 end delete begin insert 15 end insert
calendar days, administered by either a sponsoring entity or a local
government, or both, through which health care is provided to the
public without compensation to the health care practitioner.

(4) “Sponsoring entity” means a nonprofit organization
organized pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code or a community-based organization.

(5) “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 is not adequate to obtain those health care services
offered by the health care practitioner under this section.

(b) A health care practitioner licensed or certified in good
standing in another state, district, or territory of the United States
who offers or provides health care services for which he or she is
licensed or certified is exempt from the requirement for licensure
if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) Prior to providing those services, he or she does all of the
following:

(A) Obtains authorization from the board to participate in the
sponsored event after submitting to the board a copy of his or her
valid license or certificate from each state in which he or she holds
licensure or certification and a photographic identification issued
by one of the states in which he or she holds licensure or
certification. The board shall notify the sponsoring entity, within
20 calendar days of receiving a request for authorization, whether
that request is approved or denied, provided that, if the board
receives a request for authorization less than 20 days prior to the
date of the sponsored event, the board shall make reasonable efforts
to notify the sponsoring entity whether that request is approved or
denied prior to the date of that sponsored event.

(B) Satisfies the following requirements:

(i) The health care practitioner has not committed any act or
been convicted of a crime constituting grounds for denial of
licensure or registration under Section 480 and is in good standing
in each state in which he or she holds licensure or certification.

(ii) The health care practitioner has the appropriate education
and experience to participate in a sponsored event, as determined
by the board.

(iii) The health care practitioner shall agree to comply with all
applicable practice requirements set forth in this division and the
regulations adopted pursuant to this division.

(C) Submits to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, a
request for authorization to practice without a license, and pays a
fee, in an amount determined by the board by regulation, which
shall be available, upon appropriation, to cover the cost of
developing the authorization process and processing the request.

(2) The services are provided under all of the following
circumstances:

(A) To uninsured or underinsured persons.

(B) On a short-term voluntary basis, not to exceed a
begin delete 10-calendar-day end delete begin insert 15-calendar-day end insert period per sponsored event.

(C) In association with a sponsoring entity that complies with
subdivision (d).

(D) Without charge to the recipient or to a third party on behalf
of the recipient.

(c) The board may deny a health care practitioner authorization
to practice without a license if the health care practitioner fails to
comply with this section or for any act that would be grounds for
denial of an application for licensure.

(d) A sponsoring entity seeking to provide, or arrange for the
provision of, health care services under this section shall do both
of the following:

(1) Register with each applicable board under this division for
which an out-of-state health care practitioner is participating in
the sponsored event by completing a registration form that shall
include all of the following:

(A) The name of the sponsoring entity.

(B) The name of the principal individual or individuals who are
the officers or organizational officials responsible for the operation
of the sponsoring entity.

(C) The address, including street, city, ZIP Code, and county,
of the sponsoring entity’s principal office and each individual listed
pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(D) The telephone number for the principal office of the
sponsoring 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 health care services
will be provided, along with any additional information that may
be required by that department.

(e) The sponsoring entity shall notify the board and the county
health department described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) in
writing of any change to the information required under subdivision
(d) within 30 calendar days of the change.

(f) Within 15 calendar days of the provision of health care
services 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 health care services were 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.

(g) The sponsoring entity shall maintain a list of health care
practitioners associated with the provision of health care services
under this section. The sponsoring entity shall maintain a copy of
each health care practitioner’s current license or certification and
shall require each health care practitioner to attest in writing that
his or her license or certificate is not suspended or revoked pursuant
to disciplinary proceedings in any jurisdiction. The sponsoring
entity shall maintain these records for a period of at least five years
following the provision of health care services under this section
and shall, upon request, furnish those records to the board or any
county health department.

(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 services under this
section, provided that the practitioner or entity complies with this
section.

(i) Subdivision (b) shall not be construed to authorize a health
care practitioner to render care outside the scope of practice
authorized by his or her license or certificate or this division.

(j) (1) The board may terminate authorization for a health care
practitioner to provide health care services pursuant to this section
for failure to comply with this section, any applicable practice
requirement set forth in this division, any regulations adopted
pursuant to this division, or for any act that would be grounds for
discipline if done by a licensee of that board.

(2) The board shall provide both the sponsoring entity and the
health care practitioner with a written notice of termination
including the basis for that termination. The health care practitioner
may, within 30 days after the date of the receipt of notice of
termination, file a written appeal to the board. The appeal shall
include any documentation the health care practitioner wishes to
present to the board.

(3) A health care practitioner whose authorization to provide
health care services pursuant to this section has been terminated
shall not provide health care services pursuant to this section unless
and until a subsequent request for authorization has been approved
by the board. A health care practitioner who provides health care
services in violation of this paragraph shall be deemed to be
practicing health care in violation of the applicable provisions of
this division, and be subject to any applicable administrative, civil,
or criminal fines, penalties, and other sanctions provided in this
division.

(k) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application.

(l) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.