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With less than a month for the Legislature to advance bills out of policy committees, two pieces of legislation that present significant concerns for patients and communities remain in play.
On Monday, we sent a field-wide alert asking for your help in opposing:
- Senate Bill 213 — A bill that would create a standing presumption (rebuttable after the fact) in the workers’ compensation system that an infectious disease, musculoskeletal injury, or respiratory disease arose out of work for any hospital worker involved in direct patient care.
- Assembly Bill 2080 — A bill that would prohibit providers from entering into many forms of care arrangements and create a massive expansion of authority for the attorney general to approve, deny, or impose unlimited conditions on health care providers seeking to partner.
In the wake of COVID-19 — a crisis where health care systems proved invaluable to the emergency response — and at a time when 51% of hospitals are operating in the red and hospitals continue to be asked to hold costs in check, these bills threaten both access to care and the goal of making care more affordable for all.
On the bill that threatens health care partnerships, letters should be sent by June 10 to the Senate Health Committee. A template letter and key messages are available for your use and customization.
On the bill that creates a presumption for workers’ compensation claims, letters should be sent by noon (PT) on June 15 to the Assembly Insurance Committee. A template letter and key messages are available for your use and customization.
On a separate track, CHA continues to work toward the top priority for 2022: securing reform of the 2030 seismic mandate that enables hospitals to recover from the pandemic’s financial devastation and to invest finite health care resources in a depleted workforce and high-demand behavioral health services.
As always, your support of these advocacy efforts is integral to success. Hospitals are strongest when they speak in large numbers with one voice.
Thank you for lending your voice on these two key issues.
