Bill Text: CA AB2334 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Malpractice insurance: volunteer dentists.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-04 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2334 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2334-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2334 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Section 657.5 to the Business and
Professions Code, relating to health care. An act to
add Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 1660) to Chapter 4 of
Division 2 of, and to repeal Section 1660.7 of, the Bus
iness and Professions Code, relating to dentistry.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2334, as amended, Salas. Health care: billing:
interest and fees. Malpractice insurance: volunteer
dentists.
Under existing law, the Dental Practice Act, the Dental Board of
California is responsible for the licensure and regulation of
dentists. Licensure fees imposed upon dentists are deposited into the
State Dentistry Fund for the purposes of administering the act and
are subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would create the Volunteer Insured Dentists Program,
administered by the board, to provide specified malpractice insurance
coverage to volunteer dentists providing uncompensated care to
low-income patients pursuant to a contract with a qualified health
care entity, as defined. The bill would provide unspecified funding
for the program from the State Dentistry Fund for a limited period of
time. The bill would require annual reports to the Legislature until
January 1, 2015.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various
health care practitioners by various boards under the Department of
Consumer Affairs, and the licensure and regulation of health
facilities by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law
provides that a creditor who is entitled to recover damages, as
specified, is also entitled to recover interest on the damages prior
to entry of a judgment for damages, as specified. Existing law also
provides that interest accrues at the rate of 10% per annum on the
principal amount of a money judgment remaining unsatisfied.
This bill would prohibit a medical care provider, as defined, or
health facility, as defined, from charging, assessing, or collecting,
directly or through a collection agency or other intermediary, or
pursuant to any judgment, any interest on, or late fees or charges
with respect to or arising out of, any unpaid balance on a bill for
medical services rendered. The bill would also require those
providers and facilities to include in a bill for medical services a
notice to this effect, in at least 12-point type, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 3.7 (commencing with Section
1660) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code , to read:
Article 3.7. Volunteer Insured Dentists Program
1660. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Volunteer Insured Dentists (VID) Act, which authorizes the creation
and implementation of the Volunteer Insured Dentists (VID) Program.
1660.1. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Licensee" means a licensed dentist who is engaged in the
practice of dentistry under the jurisdiction of the board.
(b) "Low-income patient" means a person who is without dental
coverage and whose family income does not exceed 200 percent of the
federal poverty level, as defined annually by the federal Office of
Management and Budget.
(c) "Qualified health care entity" means a county health
department or clinic owned and operated by a governmental entity.
(d) "VID Program" is the Volunteer Insured Dentists Program.
(e) "Voluntary service agreement" means an agreement executed
pursuant to this article between the board, a licensee, and a
qualified health care entity that authorizes the qualified health
care entity to enter into a voluntary service contract with the
licensee.
(f) "Voluntary service application" means the written application
developed by the board that a licensee must complete and submit in
order to be considered for participation in the VID Program.
(g) "Voluntary service contract" means an agreement executed
pursuant to this article between a licensee and a qualified health
care entity that authorizes the licensee to deliver dental services
to low-income patients as an agent of the qualified health care
entity on a volunteer, uncompensated basis.
(h) "Volunteer dentist" means a licensee who volunteers to provide
dental services, as described in Section 1660.3, to a low-income
patient, with no monetary or material compensation.
1660.2. (a) A licensee who wants to provide voluntary,
uncompensated care to low-income patients, but who does not have
professional liability insurance that would include insurance
coverage for premiums, defense, and indemnity costs for any claims
arising from voluntary and uncompensated care, may submit a voluntary
service application to the board for coverage under the VID Program.
(b) A licensee who submits an application for a waiver of renewal
licensing fees under subdivision (a) of Section 1716.1 and who also
submits a voluntary service application shall be simultaneously
assessed by the board for eligibility to receive professional
liability insurance coverage for premiums, defense, and indemnity
costs through the VID Program.
(c) A licensee who has standard professional liability insurance
coverage for his or her regular practice but who is not covered for
volunteer service may submit a voluntary service application to
participate in the VID Program. In conjunction with the voluntary
service application, the licensee shall submit verification from his
or her professional liability insurance carrier that voluntary,
uncompensated care is not covered by his or her existing professional
liability insurance policy.
(d) The board shall review the voluntary service application to
determine if the applicant meets the criteria for VID Program
participation. These criteria shall include both of the following:
(1) Holding an active license in good standing to practice
dentistry in the State of California.
(2) No record of disciplinary action by the board or any other
regulatory board.
(e) Continued eligibility for the VID Program shall be reassessed
by the board during each license renewal cycle.
1660.3. (a) Licensees approved by the board for participation in
the VID Program may enter into a voluntary service agreement with the
board and a qualified health care entity that acknowledges the terms
of the VID Program and transfers responsibility from the volunteer
dentist to the state for professional liability insurance, including
premiums, defense, and indemnity costs, for voluntary, uncompensated
dental care that is provided in accordance with an executed and
signed voluntary service contract between the volunteer dentist and
the qualified health care entity and that complies with the terms of
the VID Program.
(b) The voluntary service contract between the volunteer dentist
and the qualified health care entity shall include all of the
following provisions:
(1) All care provided shall be both voluntary and uncompensated
and shall be provided to low-income patients.
(2) Patient selection and initial referral shall be made solely by
the qualified health care entity and the volunteer dentist shall
accept all referred patients except as otherwise allowed by law.
However, the number of patients that must be accepted may be limited
by the voluntary service contract.
(3) The qualified health care entity shall have access to the
patient records of the volunteer dentist delivering services under
the voluntary service contract.
(4) The volunteer dentist shall be subject to supervision by the
qualified health care entity's standard peer review process and all
related laws regarding peer review, including, but not limited to,
the filing of reports pursuant to Section 805.
(5) The qualified health care entity shall utilize a quality
assurance program to monitor services delivered by the volunteer
dentist under the voluntary services contract.
(6) The right to dismiss or terminate a volunteer dentist
delivering services under the voluntary service contract shall be
retained by the qualified health care entity. If the volunteer
services contract is terminated, the qualified health care entity
shall notify the VID Program in writing within five days.
1660.4. The fact that a volunteer dentist is insured under the
VID Program in relation to particular dental services rendered shall
not operate to change or affect the laws applicable to any claims
arising from or related to those dental services. All laws applicable
to a claim remain the same regardless of whether a licensee is
insured through the VID Program.
1660.5. If a volunteer dentist covered by the VID Program
receives notice or otherwise obtains knowledge that a claim of
professional negligence has been or may be filed, the dentist shall
immediately notify the VID Program or the contracted liability
carrier.
1660.6. All costs for administering the VID Program, including
the cost of professional liability insurance for premiums, defense,
and indemnity coverage for program participants, shall be paid for
from the State Dentistry Fund, in an amount not to exceed ____
dollars ($____) per year.
1660.7. (a) The board shall report annually to the Legislature
summarizing the efficacy of access and treatment outcomes with
respect to providing dental services for low-income patients pursuant
to this article. The report shall include the numbers of injuries
and deaths reported, claims statistics for all care rendered under
the VID Program, including the total of all premiums paid, the number
of claims made for each year of the VID Program, the amount of all
indemnity payments made, the cost of defense provided, and
administration costs associated with all claims made against
volunteer dentists arising from voluntary and uncompensated care
provided under the VID Program.
(b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2015.
1660.8. This article shall remain operative until January 1,
2016, or until another viable source of funding is identified and
adopted, whichever occurs first.
SECTION 1. Section 657.5 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
657.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 3287 of the Civil Code and
Section 685.010 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is unlawful for
any medical care provider, or any health facility to charge, assess,
or collect, directly or through a collection agency or other
intermediary, or pursuant to any judgment, any interest on, or late
fees or charges with respect to or arising out of, any unpaid balance
on a bill for any medical services provided.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, "medical care provider"
means a person licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
2000), Chapter 5.7 (commencing with Section 2600), Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 2700), Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section
2840), Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 2900), Chapter 7.7
(commencing with Section 3500), Chapter 8 (commencing with Section
3600), or Chapter 8.2 (commencing with Section 3610), any medical
group, and any independent practice association.
(2) For purposes of this section, "health facility" means a health
facility as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code,
and also includes all wholly owned subsidiaries of the facility, a
parent company that wholly owns the facility, and any subsidiaries
wholly owned by the same parent that wholly owns the facility.
(c) A billing statement for medical care services rendered by a
medical care provider or health facility shall include the following
notice in a legible font in at least 12-point type:
"You are responsible to pay this bill. However, California law
prohibits us from charging, assessing, or collecting, directly or
through a collection agency or other intermediary, or pursuant to any
judgment, any interest on, or late fees or charges with respect to
or arising out of, any unpaid balance on this bill."
