Three major bills that would greatly expand patient access to doctors and hospitals of their choice, and help protect health care workers from workplace violence and infection by the deadly MRSA virus, won key approvals in the California legislature today.  
 
Assembly Bill 2533, Patient Choice, introduced by Assembly member Tom Ammiano, Senate Bill 1299, Workplace Violence Prevention, introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, and AB 2616 assures protection against the MRSA virus, introduced by Assembly member Nancy Skinner, are all sponsored by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United.
 
Senate Appropriations Approves Patient Choice bill, AB 2533
 
AB 2533 would set a new national standard for breaking through rigid restrictions on patient choice of medical providers. It next heads to the Senate floor for a final vote and before going to the Governors desk.
 
“People should be able to freely choose where they seek medical treatment without having to travel great distances for proper medical care or fear financial ruin,” said Deborah Burger, RN, CNA/NNU co-president. “This bill would allow patients to do just that. The focus should be on what’s in the best interest of the patient, not an insurance company’s financial gain."
 
AB 2533 protects the ability of Californians to seek medical care from the providers of their choice by restricting higher charges for patients who get medical care outside their insurance provider “network”, in a timely manner.  The bill also directly addresses a growing national trend of insurers who entered the new health exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act have set even tighter network restrictions than existed in non-exchange plans. Many Californians in particular have found that private insurance plans they signed up for through Covered California excluded major hospitals in the state.

Campaign for a Healthy California, a statewide coalition, is a major co-sponsor of the bill.

AB 2616, Equity for healthcare workers exposed to MRSA wins approval by Senate Appropriations:

 
AB 2616 would extend presumptive eligibility for worker’s compensation for any hospital employees who contract the aggressive, especially virulent antibiotic resistance staph infection commonly known as MRSA. The bill moves next to the Assembly floor.
 
An estimated 200,000 MRSA occur in California hospitals every year, of which 12,000 result in deaths, according to the State Department of Public Health. RNs are particularly vulnerable to exposure because of the personal nature of the care they provide.   
 
Under current law, a number of workplace injuries qualify for presumption of eligibility for workers’ comp for public safety personnel. But only for police, firefighters and some other safety personnel who are predominantly male. AB 2616 would extend that eligibility to RNs and other hospital employees who are predominantly women.  
 
AB 2616 is co-sponsored by the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association

 

Workplace Violence, SB 1299 Approved by Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
SB 1299 which now moves to the Assembly floor would require the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt standards requiring hospitals to establish workplace violence prevention plans to protect health care workers and other facility personnel, as well as hospital patients, families, and visitors, from aggressive and violent behavior.  
 
One major reason for the escalating occurrences, say nurses, is the lack of adequate preventive measures in too many hospitals. Under SB 1299, hospitals would be required to have policies that include systems to improve hospital security and appropriate staffing to reduce the potential for violent incidents. Sufficient staffing and security personnel are major preventive measures.   
 
Hospitals would also be required to provide education and training programs for recognizing and responding to violence, and would be prohibited from retaliation against employees who seek help from law enforcement.   
 
Additionally the law would step up the requirement for hospitals to document and report incidents of violence to Cal-OSHA and would require Cal/OSHA to post a report on its website containing information regarding violent incidents at hospitals and to make recommendations on how to prevent violent incidents at hospitals.