Advocacy

On October 29, 2019, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Governor’s office released a proposal for broad delivery system and payment reforms across the Medi-Cal program. This expansion proposal, formerly known as CalAIM and now called Medi-Cal Healthier California for All, would address many challenges of [...]

Safe injection sites, AB 362 (Eggman) , providing overdose prevention, failed legislative deadlines, but is a two-year bill eligible to be taken up again in 2020. CPA supported. Diagnosis mandate on prescriptions and pill bottles, AB 387 (Gabriel) , has been amended to set up a task force to study means to reduce adverse drug [...]

The Governor has signed a bill that provides “cleanup” language for CPA’s primary care provider scholarships program – releasing $2.65 million for use as intended. The original budget bill contained a drafting error for one-year fellowships in the essentials of primary care psychiatry. With the corrected language, non-physicians (i.e. nurse [...]

Not again. Usually, consumer advocacy in its broadest and most positive context provokes a more agreeable response than I have to this one. A new California ballot initiative has been filed. That means a title and summary accepted by the Attorney General, proponents cleared to start gathering signatures. To leave no doubt as [...]

Chronic state leadership voids are in Governor Newsom’s sights. You are witnessing the medicalization of state health policy with a number of firsts: creating the position of California Surgeon General, and installing a pediatrician; appointing another pediatrician as secretary of the state’s health agency; yet another physician as a deputy [...]

One of the bills that became law is SB 544 (Umberg) that illustrates a trend in licensing of professionals. SB 544 would prohibit the state bar from seeking information on mental health issues in deciding whether an applicant to the bar is of “good moral character.” CPA negotiated a related provision earlier [...]