Health
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry’s Assembly Bill 2576 into law over the weekend.
This proposal, part of Aguiar-Curry’s package of wildfire recovery legislation, is critical to ensure that communities continue to receive timely access to health care when disaster strikes.
After finding critical barriers to clinics’ and other health providers’ ability to provide health care and receive reimbursement for health services clinics during and after the devastating 2017 wildfires, Aguiar-Curry introduced AB 2576 to streamline the system.
The roughly 1,300 community health centers in California provide high-quality comprehensive care to 6.5 million people – that’s 1 in 6 Californians.
Community clinics provide the full spectrum of care, from primary care, to dental and behavioral care, and a variety of additional wraparound services to everyone, regardless of ability to pay, immigration status, or individual circumstances.
However, when a clinic burns down or is damaged, the current rules restrict health providers from being able to deliver health services in the field.
The 2017 wildfire season was one of the worst in California’s history. Over a three month period, nearly two dozen health center corporations, serving a 10 county region, were impacted by the fires.
In addition to firefighters, police officers, and government officials who worked together to coordinate relief efforts in the affected areas, community health center providers were on the front lines, treating patients and providing resources to victims.
“When fires are raging throughout our state, doctors, nurses and other health professionals shouldn’t have to worry about arcane rules that prevent them from doing their jobs,” said Aguiar-Curry. “These folks did incredible work under impossible circumstances to help patients in every conceivable kind of ‘non-hospital’ environment. The rules said you couldn’t deliver treatments or medications to people in need without the ‘four walls’ of the clinic. Well, what if those four walls have burned down? We had to act to make sense out of a situation that couldn’t wait.”
AB 2576 will clarify state law to ensure that during an emergency providers can have telephonic appointments with patients, provide check-ups at shelters for evacuated patients, and make home visits where needed.
Current rules restrict all of these methods of providing services from receiving reimbursement outside of the “four walls” of a community health center facility.
The bill will also create an accelerated Board of Pharmacy permitting process for health centers to create temporary pharmacy sites when the clinic is inaccessible.
These changes are critical to ensuring that patients impacted by a disaster can continue to receive the care they need, while also avoiding unnecessary strain on emergency services.
“With the recent devastating fire season that affected Californians across the state, I am thankful to see the Governor’s continued dedication to essential health care and his signing of Assembly Bill 2576,” said Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and CEO of CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates.”
This critical legislation will improve timely access to care for communities during declared emergencies. Combined efforts from the resilient leadership of Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and our vital partnership with the Redwood Community Health Coalition enabled AB 2576 to make it to the Governor’s desk.”
Aguiar-Curry represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma counties, and all of Yolo County except West Sacramento.
This proposal, part of Aguiar-Curry’s package of wildfire recovery legislation, is critical to ensure that communities continue to receive timely access to health care when disaster strikes.
After finding critical barriers to clinics’ and other health providers’ ability to provide health care and receive reimbursement for health services clinics during and after the devastating 2017 wildfires, Aguiar-Curry introduced AB 2576 to streamline the system.
The roughly 1,300 community health centers in California provide high-quality comprehensive care to 6.5 million people – that’s 1 in 6 Californians.
Community clinics provide the full spectrum of care, from primary care, to dental and behavioral care, and a variety of additional wraparound services to everyone, regardless of ability to pay, immigration status, or individual circumstances.
However, when a clinic burns down or is damaged, the current rules restrict health providers from being able to deliver health services in the field.
The 2017 wildfire season was one of the worst in California’s history. Over a three month period, nearly two dozen health center corporations, serving a 10 county region, were impacted by the fires.
In addition to firefighters, police officers, and government officials who worked together to coordinate relief efforts in the affected areas, community health center providers were on the front lines, treating patients and providing resources to victims.
“When fires are raging throughout our state, doctors, nurses and other health professionals shouldn’t have to worry about arcane rules that prevent them from doing their jobs,” said Aguiar-Curry. “These folks did incredible work under impossible circumstances to help patients in every conceivable kind of ‘non-hospital’ environment. The rules said you couldn’t deliver treatments or medications to people in need without the ‘four walls’ of the clinic. Well, what if those four walls have burned down? We had to act to make sense out of a situation that couldn’t wait.”
AB 2576 will clarify state law to ensure that during an emergency providers can have telephonic appointments with patients, provide check-ups at shelters for evacuated patients, and make home visits where needed.
Current rules restrict all of these methods of providing services from receiving reimbursement outside of the “four walls” of a community health center facility.
The bill will also create an accelerated Board of Pharmacy permitting process for health centers to create temporary pharmacy sites when the clinic is inaccessible.
These changes are critical to ensuring that patients impacted by a disaster can continue to receive the care they need, while also avoiding unnecessary strain on emergency services.
“With the recent devastating fire season that affected Californians across the state, I am thankful to see the Governor’s continued dedication to essential health care and his signing of Assembly Bill 2576,” said Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and CEO of CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates.”
This critical legislation will improve timely access to care for communities during declared emergencies. Combined efforts from the resilient leadership of Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and our vital partnership with the Redwood Community Health Coalition enabled AB 2576 to make it to the Governor’s desk.”
Aguiar-Curry represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma counties, and all of Yolo County except West Sacramento.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SACRAMENTO – Legislation authored by Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) to help ensure that children at risk of lead exposure receive blood lead screening tests was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Earning bipartisan support in the Legislature prior to being signed into law, SB 1041 requires the California Department of Public Health to annually notify health care providers and, in turn, parents about the risks and effects of lead exposure and of the requirement that all Medi-Cal enrolled children be tested for lead.
Federal law and state regulations currently require that children receiving Medi-Cal benefits be tested for lead at 12 and 24 months of age.
“Once implemented, SB 1041 will empower and inform physicians and parents about the dangers of lead exposure so that they can help protect children and families,” Sen. Leyva said. “Kids can sometimes be unknowingly exposed to lead through a variety of sources, including toys, drinking water and even paint. Any level of lead exposure in children is dangerous and SB 1041 will help parents know the importance of kids receiving a blood lead level screening test as a precautionary measure. This bill will help to promptly diagnose and treat children exposed to lead in our local communities.”
An analysis of Medi-Cal billing data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that, between 2012 and 2016, nearly three-fourths of Medi-Cal enrolled children were not tested for lead exposure.
Children in at least 4 million U.S. households are exposed to high levels of lead, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports that even the smallest amount of lead in children can cause mental and physical disorders such as attention deficit issues, brain damage, and delayed body growth.
Cosponsored by EWG and the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, SB 1041 was supported by many organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics / California, Association of Regional Center Agencies, California League of Conservation Voters, California State PTA, California Teachers Association, Children Now, Children’s Advocacy Institute, Children’s Defense Fund, Clean Water Action, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Healthy Black Families Inc, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club California and Western Center on Law and Poverty.
Earning bipartisan support in the Legislature prior to being signed into law, SB 1041 requires the California Department of Public Health to annually notify health care providers and, in turn, parents about the risks and effects of lead exposure and of the requirement that all Medi-Cal enrolled children be tested for lead.
Federal law and state regulations currently require that children receiving Medi-Cal benefits be tested for lead at 12 and 24 months of age.
“Once implemented, SB 1041 will empower and inform physicians and parents about the dangers of lead exposure so that they can help protect children and families,” Sen. Leyva said. “Kids can sometimes be unknowingly exposed to lead through a variety of sources, including toys, drinking water and even paint. Any level of lead exposure in children is dangerous and SB 1041 will help parents know the importance of kids receiving a blood lead level screening test as a precautionary measure. This bill will help to promptly diagnose and treat children exposed to lead in our local communities.”
An analysis of Medi-Cal billing data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that, between 2012 and 2016, nearly three-fourths of Medi-Cal enrolled children were not tested for lead exposure.
Children in at least 4 million U.S. households are exposed to high levels of lead, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports that even the smallest amount of lead in children can cause mental and physical disorders such as attention deficit issues, brain damage, and delayed body growth.
Cosponsored by EWG and the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, SB 1041 was supported by many organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics / California, Association of Regional Center Agencies, California League of Conservation Voters, California State PTA, California Teachers Association, Children Now, Children’s Advocacy Institute, Children’s Defense Fund, Clean Water Action, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Healthy Black Families Inc, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club California and Western Center on Law and Poverty.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
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