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NOTE: This document outlines the legislative priorities of
CPA. They are not necessarily in specific order of priority, as changing events
change the need to dedicate time and resources to different issues.
Psychologists Practicing Medicine.
Protect public safety by opposing attempts by psychologists to expand their
scope of practice to practice medicine without full medical school training,
including their efforts to acquire authority to prescribe brain medications and
to release involuntary LPS holds.
Human Resources.
Improve access to psychiatric care for all Californians consistent with the
policies adopted by CPA in June, 2001 and June, 2002. This is to include
increasing the numbers of psychiatrists being trained, assuring adequate numbers
of psychiatrists in managed care programs and in public programs, increasing
access to telepsychiatry, expanding efforts to train and support primary care
physicians, and supporting efforts to increase the numbers of psychiatric
specialist nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Managed Care.
Modify the managed care environment to make it more physician and patient
friendly, including reducing the uncompensated regulatory burdens imposed by
managed care companies (the "hassle factor"), and assuring proper
implementation of AB 88, the law providing non-discriminatory health insurance
coverage for serious mental disorders. Support parity in insurance coverage for
substance abuse treatment.
Medi-Cal.
Seek adjustments to Medi-Cal and managed care fee schedules that assure adequate
payment to psychiatrists for their services, including assuring adequate
psychiatric and other medical care for foster children.
MICRA.
Protect the integrity of the California medical malpractice law, the Medical
Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
Patient Access to Needed Medications/Formularies.
Advocate with respect to Medi-Cal and managed care formulary issues consistent
with the policy adopted by the CPA Council in 1997, supporting full access to
medications prescribed by the treating psychiatrist or other physician. Work to
improve access to modern psychiatric medications in the public mental health
system and jails and prisons.
Penal System.
Advocate for adequate psychiatric care for mentally ill prisoners and detainees
of the juvenile justice system, including modern medication. Assure that the
severely mentally ill and sexual predators are not confused with one another.
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 the 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. AB 1792 and AB 1793 are
CPA PRIORITY SUPPORT Bills
Public Mental Health System/including foster children.
Assure the integrity of, and adequate funding for, the public mental health
system, including funding for medical treatment and full utilization of the
skills of psychiatrists and for AB 34 and AB 1421 programs. Assure that all
programs have good outcome evaluations. Seek early diagnosis and treatment for
all children, including foster children, funding for dual diagnosis programs and
police training.
Seclusion and Restraint.
Work with other organizations to improve the laws and practices governing
seclusion and restraint to assure patient and staff safety.
*Psychiatric Leadership.
Work to insure institutional support for medical and psychiatric leadership in
all health care systems in which mental illness is addressed.
*This item is new for 2004
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