Bill Text: CA SB784 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Health care districts: employment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB784 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB784-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
March 21, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 784
| Introduced by Senator Becker |
February 17, 2023 |
An act to amend Section 137 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health. Section 2401 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 784, as amended, Becker.
Women’s health.Health care districts: employment.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, restricts the employment of physicians and surgeons or doctors of podiatric medicine by a corporation or other artificial legal entity to entities that do not charge for professional services rendered to patients and are approved by the Medical Board of California, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law, the Local Health Care District Law, regulates the organization and management of health care districts.
This bill would create an exemption to the general prohibition described above by authorizing health care districts and nonprofit corporations with a health care district as its sole corporate member that
own or control a general acute care hospital to employ physicians and surgeons and charge for professional services. The bill would prohibit the health care district from interfering with, controling, or otherwise directing the professional judgment of a physician or surgeon as proscribed.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health to implement and administer various programs relating to public health. Existing law requires the department to develop a coordinated state strategy for addressing the health-related needs of women, including implementation of goals and objectives for women’s health.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 2401 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:2401.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 2400, a clinic operated primarily for the purpose of medical education by a public or private nonprofit university medical school, which is approved by the board or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, may charge for professional services rendered to teaching patients by licensees who hold academic appointments on the faculty of the university, if the charges are approved by the physician and surgeon in whose name the charges are made.(b) Notwithstanding Section 2400, a clinic operated under subdivision (p) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code may employ licensees and charge for professional services rendered by those licensees. However, the clinic shall not interfere with, control, or otherwise direct the
professional judgment of a physician and surgeon in a manner prohibited by Section 2400 or any other law.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 2400, a narcotic treatment program operated under Section 11876 of the Health and Safety Code and regulated by the State Department of Health Care Services, may employ licensees and charge for professional services rendered by those licensees. However, the narcotic treatment program shall not interfere with, control, or otherwise direct the professional judgment of a physician and surgeon in a manner prohibited by Section 2400 or any other law.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 2400, a hospital that is owned and operated by a licensed charitable organization, that offers only pediatric subspecialty care, that, before January 1, 2013, employed licensees on a salary basis, and that has not charged for professional services rendered to patients may,
commencing January 1, 2013, charge for professional services rendered to patients, provided the following conditions are met:
(1) The hospital does not increase the number of salaried licensees by more than five licensees each year.
(2) The hospital does not expand its scope of services beyond pediatric subspecialty care.
(3) The hospital accepts each patient needing its scope of services regardless of the patient’s ability to pay, including whether the patient has any form of health care coverage.
(4) The medical staff concur by an affirmative vote that the licensee’s employment is in the best interest of the communities served by the hospital.
(5) The hospital does not interfere with,
control, or otherwise direct a physician and surgeon’s professional judgment in a manner prohibited by Section 2400 or any other law.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 2400, a health care district, organized and governed pursuant to Division 23 (commencing with Section 32000) of the Health and Safety Code, or a nonprofit corporation with a health care district as its sole corporate member, as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 14169.31 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, that owns or controls a general acute care hospital may employ licensees and charge for professional services rendered by those licensees. However, the health care district shall not interfere with, control, or otherwise direct the professional judgment of a physician and surgeon in a manner prohibited by Section 2400 or any other law.
(e)
(f) (1) Notwithstanding Section 2400, until January 1, 2024, a federally certified critical access hospital may employ licensees and charge for professional services rendered by those licensees to patients, provided both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The medical staff concur by an affirmative vote that the licensee’s employment is in the best interest of the communities served by the hospital.
(B) The hospital does not interfere with, control, or otherwise direct a physician and surgeon’s professional judgment in a manner prohibited by Section 2400 or any other law.
(2) (A) On or before July 1,
2023, the Department of Health Care Access and Information shall provide a report to the Legislature containing data about the impact of paragraph (1) on federally certified critical access hospitals and their ability to recruit and retain physicians and surgeons between January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2023, inclusive. This report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this subparagraph is inoperative on July 1, 2027.
(B) The Department of Health Care Access and Information shall determine the format of the report, as well as the methods and data elements to be utilized in the development of the report.
(C) On and after July 1, 2017, a federally certified critical access hospital that is employing licensees and charging for professional services rendered by those licensees to patients under
this section shall submit to the office, on or before July 1 of each year, a report for any year in which that hospital has employed or is employing licensees and charging for professional services rendered by those licensees to patients. The report shall include data elements as required by the office and shall be submitted in a format as required by the Department of Health Care Access and Information. The requirement for submitting reports imposed under this subparagraph shall be inoperative on July 1, 2023.
(a)The State Department of Public Health shall develop a coordinated state strategy for addressing the health-related needs of women, including implementation of goals and objectives for women’s health.
(b)The approved programmatic costs associated with this strategy shall be the responsibility of the department, unless otherwise provided by law.
