Physicians: Ask Governor to Sign CMA-Sponsored Bills

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

Physicians: Ask Governor to Sign CMA-Sponsored Bills

Source: CMA (http://www.calphys.org/html/alert091505.asp?anchorID#2 ) 
Date: September 15, 2005
 

A number of bills of interest to physicians are on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk
awaiting his signature. CMA asks physicians to contact the governor and urge him to sign
these important bills. The governor has until October 9 to sign or veto legislation from
this year’s legislative session. 

Below are summaries of the CMA-sponsored and -supported bills on the governor’s desk.

Medi-Cal Provider Reimbursement (AB 1735): The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco recently overturned an injunction that CMA won in 2003, blocking the 5 percent
Medi-Cal rate cut that was passed as part of the 2003-04 budget. This CMA-sponsored bill
would prevent the administration from reducing access to care for these vulnerable
patients by cutting already low reimbursement rates retroactively or in the current year.
With overwhelming support of physicians throughout California, the bill attracted wide
bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature.

Managed Care Reform (SB 367 and SB 634): These two bills, taken together will help take
the patient out of billing disputes by allowing physicians to go directly to the
Department of Insurance (DOI) to have disputes resolved.

SB 634 would require insurers regulated by DOI to abide by the same unfair payment
practices rules as the Knox-Keene licensed health plans regulated by the Department of
Managed Health Care (DMHC). It would also prohibit unreasonable claim deadlines and would
require full and regular disclosure of insurers’ fee schedules and payment rules. SB 367
would require DOI to create a dispute resolution system to respond to physicians’ unfair
payment complaints.

Raise Fines to Fund ER/Trauma Care (SB 57): This bill would authorize counties to
increase fines for parking violations and criminal offenses to fund the emergency and
trauma care system. This bill could generate $60 million a year statewide if it becomes
law.

Medi-Cal Liens (SB 399): This bill would give physicians the right to obtain liens
against future legal settlements or jury awards for services provided to Medi-Cal
patients whose injuries were caused by a third party (i.e., in a car accident).
Physicians would be able to secure liens in amounts sufficient to cover the full cost of
providing care, even if those charges exceed the amount the physician was paid by
Medi-Cal to provide that care.

Click here for more information, including details on how to contact the governor.
http://www.calphys.org/html/bb980.asp 

Contact: Dave Ford, 916/444-5532 or dford at cmanet.org.



Cyrus Shahpar & Brian Potts 
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

The CAL/AAEM Archives are available at: http://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/public/calaaem/



		
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