Amended  IN  Assembly  April 20, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1670

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

February 17, 2023

An act to amend Section 445 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical referral services.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1670, as amended, Gipson. Medical referral services: treatment referrals.
Existing law prohibits a person or business from referring or recommending a person for any form of medical care or treatment for profit and creates a presumption that the referral or recommendation is for profit if a fee or charge is imposed. Existing law makes a violation of this provision a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in county jail for not longer than one year, or of a fine not exceeding $5,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
This bill would reduce increase the maximum fine from $5,000 to $2,500. $10,000.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 445 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

445.
 No person, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent or employee thereof, shall for profit refer or recommend a person to a physician, hospital, health-related facility, or dispensary for any form of medical care or treatment of any ailment or physical condition. The imposition of a fee or charge for any such referral or recommendation creates a presumption that the referral or recommendation is for profit.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to referrals or recommendations which are made under the crippled children services program or prepaid health plans.
A physician, hospital, health-related facility or dispensary shall not enter into a contract or other form of agreement to accept for medical care or treatment any person referred or recommended for such care or treatment by a medical referral service business located in or doing business in another state if the medical referral service business would be prohibited under this part if the business were located in or doing business in this state.
A violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not longer than one year, or a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Any violation of this section may be enjoined in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General, except that the plaintiff shall not be required to allege facts necessary to show or tending to show lack of adequate remedy at law or to show or tending to show irreparable damage or loss.