California Psychiatric Association
Legislative Priorities for 2000
The status of legislative bills
changes often.
To get up-to-date information on the status of bills discussed on this web
site go to:
California
State Senate Bill Information
Legislative Priorities for 2000
Results for 2000
1. Parity: Implementation of AB 88, enacted in 1999, which provides non-discriminatory health coverage for serious mental disorders.
Action: CPA has an implementation task force working with the health plans
to maximize the likelihood of appropriate implementation of AB 88. CPA is
co-sponsoring with the California Medical Foundation and NAMI California
a conference on June 23 on implementation of AB 88.
2. Medi-Cal: Seek adjustments to Medi-Cal and managed care fee schedules
that assure adequate payment to psychiatrists for their services. Action:
CPA is participating in a medicine-wide coalition seeking a 25% increase
in physician fees in the Medi-Cal system. Since psychiatrists' fees are
determined county by county, this is primarily to set a precedent to assist
local psychiatrists in negotiating more equitable fees.
3. MICRA: Protect the integrity of the Medical Injury Compensation
Reform Act (MICRA). (AB 1380 is still pending). Action: CPA will
continue to participate in the coalition opposing any change in MICRA. At
this time, there is little activity on this issue.
4. Formularies: Advocate with respect to Medi-Cal and managed care
formulary issues consistent with the policy adopted by the CPA Council at
its March, 1997 meeting. Activity will include California and other states.
Action: CPA continues to advocate for open formularies. Medi-Cal will be
reviewing its antidepressant formulary this year, and CPA will provide expert
input. CPA will also be sponsoring a meeting at the APA Annual meeting to coordinate with other states.
5. LPS Reform: Pursue task force efforts to update and revise the
Lanterman Petris Short Act (LPS) in light of today's circumstances. Support
legislation that would revise LPS and allow for mandatory outpatient treatment
in certain well-defined circumstances. (AB 1800, Thomson, or
successor) Action: CPA is supporting AB 1800, together with NAMI California,
CMA and others. AB 1800 provides for mandatory community treatment, combining
required hearings on involuntary hospitalization and medication, and for
involuntary treatment who presents as a result of a mental disorder, an acute
risk of physical or psychiatric harm if untreated.
6. Penal System: Advocate with respect to issues relating to the
severely mentally ill and the penal system in such a way as to assure that
the severely mentally ill and sexual predators are not confused with one
another, and to assure adequate psychiatric treatment for mentally ill prisoners.
Action: CPA is supporting both AB 1718 by Speaker-elect Hertzberg, and
AB 1762 by Speaker Villaraigosa. Both these bills provide better training
to police in interfacing with mentally ill persons. These bills provide
increased training for all police officers and provide for special teams
to be called out on crisis situations, similar to the teams now operating
in Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, and the City of San Jose. CPA
also support SB 1769, which would expand mental health courts into additional
counties.
7. Violence Prevention: Support legislation that embodies reasoned
regulatory action relating to violence. Support legislation that discourages
the purchase of handguns and places strong controls on availability of all
types of firearms to private citizens. CPA's legislative focus
on domestic violence is on the negative impacts of domestic violence and
prevention, not legal and criminal aspects. Focus on prevention of school
violence through removing disincentives to the identification and treatment
of severely emotionally disturbed children who may potentially be
violent. Action: CPA is supporting several bills directed toward decreasing
school violence.
8. Public Mental Health System: Assure the integrity of, and adequate
funding for, the public mental health system, including assuring that funding
includes proper funding for medical treatment and full utilization of the
skills of psychiatrists. Priorities to include assuring that all programs
have good outcome evaluations, full funding for AB 1800 and AB 2034 programs,
early diagnosis and treatment for foster kids (AB
866, Aroner) , funding for dual diagnosis programs ( SB 1623, Perata), and
police training (AB 1718 and 1762).
Action: CPA is supporting all
these bills and the funding needed to implement them, as well as working
with the authors to assure that the programs enacted by these bills will
provide for full and appropriate psychiatric and other medical treatment
for persons in the programs instituted by AB 1800, AB 2034 and SB
1623.
9. Foster Children: Assuring adequate psychiatric and other medical
care for foster children, including creating an informal advisory group
of
child and adolescent psychiatrists.
Action: CPA is supporting AB 866 (Aroner),
a bill designed to provide such care.
10. Antitrust protection for doctors, so that doctor groups can negotiate
with HMOs. (SB 2007, Speier).
Action: CMA is sponsoring SB 2007.
CPA supports it.
|
