California Medical Association sponsoring four bills to increase access to health care in California

CMA is co-sponsoring a package of four bills that have the potential to increase access to healthcare throughout the state of California.

By Maria Jennings

The legislative cycle is in full force in Sacramento, and Santa Cruz County Medical Society, along with the California Medical Association, is lobbying hard to increase access to health care in California.

On April 22nd, as part of the CMA's 40th Annual Legislative Leadership Conference, more than four hundred physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members descended upon the state capitol to push for a package of bills that, if passed, will increase access to health care in California. The bills are:

AB 1805 (Skinner) will restore a 10 percent cut made to California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, in 2011. Medi-Cal reimbursements rates are some of the lowest in the country, and restoring this funding is crucial in allowing Medi-Cal patients to continue to have access to health care.

AB 1759 (Pan) will extend the reimbursement increase for certain Medi-Cal primary providers through 2015. The increase is mandated through the Affordable Care Act.

AB 1771 (V. Manuel Perez) required health insurance companies licensed in the state of California to pay contracted physicians for telephone and electronic patient management telehealth services.  This will increase access to care, especially in under-served areas.

AB 2458 (Bonilla) creates additional residency positions to train primary care physicians. It establishes the framework to administer grants to medical education residency programs at hospitals and teaching  health centers.

To learn more about the legislative bill package, check out CMA's full coverage of the lobbying day. To keep updated on all of SCCMS's legislative advocacy, follow us on Twitter.