Action needed:
Write and call members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging them to oppose Assembly Bill (AB) 2080, which would prohibit providers from entering into many preferred provider arrangements. Write to the Assembly Insurance Committee, urging them to oppose Senate Bill (SB) 213, which would create a rebuttable presumption in the workers’ compensation system. CHA has developed template letters and key messages about the bills for your use (see below).
Please send your letters to Emily Schroeder at eschroeder@calhospital.org.
Timing:
Please send your letters for AB 2080 to the Senate Judiciary Committee by June 21. If your senator is a member of the committee, please also call them by June 28.
Please send your letters for SB 213 by noon (PT) on June 15.
AB 2080 — Oppose:
Not only would AB 2080 prohibit physician groups, hospitals, payers, and others from making certain business decisions without the approval of the attorney general, but it would increase health care costs for all Californians. AB 2080 would unnecessarily restrict hospitals’ flexibility and the resources needed to keep their doors open and provide vital care to patients. Ultimately, it is patients who will pay the cost: longer distances to travel for care, a worsening of the conditions that lead to health inequities, higher costs, and limited access to medical innovation.
SB 213 — Oppose:
Aside from recent COVID-19-specific and time-limited workers’ compensation presumptions that cover all industries, presumptions have been limited to the public sector. Because it is virtually impossible to overcome a workers’ compensation presumption, hospitals would be required to accept more claims with little to no evidence that they are work-related. Such claims can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars in temporary and permanent disability payments and medical costs for a single case.