Legislative Watch

Track progress and take action on important nursing legislation.

AB 32 (Aguiar-Curry) - Telehealth

Position: Watch

Bill Summary:

This bill would increase access to care by deleting certain existing laws within the Medi-Cal program and the Knox-Keene Act that don't provide the same extent of reimbursement for telehealth services as the same service through in-person diagnosis, consultation, or treatment.

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Furthermore, the bill would require, indefinitely, the continued telehealth flexibilities in place during the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency, Medi-Cal telehealth policy revisions, benefits of telehealth in Medi-Cal assessment, and for findings and recommendations from the evaluation to be reported to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees.

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*This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.*

AB 285 (Holden) - State School Nurse Consultant

Position: Support

Bill Summary:

This bill would require the State Department of Education to appoint a state school nurse consultant to be housed within the department. It would also require the state school nurse consultant to:

1. Be a registered nurse with a minimum of 5 years of management experience,

2. Work with school districts and school nurses to promote quality school nursing services and school health programs, and

3. Annually report to the Governor and the Legislature a summary of the year's activities and specific recommendations.

AB 410 (Fong) - Nurse Licensure Compact

Position: Watch

Bill Summary:

This bill would enact the Nurse Licensure Compact, under which the Board of Registered Nursing and the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians would be authorized to issue a multistate license that would authorize the holder to practice as a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse, as applicable, in all party states under a multistate licensure privilege.

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By authorizing out-of-state licensees to practice in this state under the multistate compact privilege created by the bill, the bill would expand the scope of the criminal provisions of the Nursing Practice Act and Vocational Nursing Practice Act, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.

AB 562 (Low) - Mental Health Services for Health Care Providers

Position: Support

Bill Summary:

Also known as the Frontline COVID-19 Provider Mental Health Resiliency Act of 2021, this bill would require the Director of Consumer Affairs to establish a mental health resiliency program to provide mental health services to licensed health care providers who provide or have provided healthcare services to COVID-19 patients.

The bill would require the relevant healing arts boards to notify licensees and solicit applications for access to the mental health resiliency program immediately upon the availability of services.

AB 1400 (Kalra) - Guaranteed Health Care for All

Position: Watch

Bill Summary:

This bill, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, would create the California Guaranteed Health Care for All program, or CalCare, to provide comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the state.

The bill, among other things, would provide that CalCare cover a wide range of medical benefits and other services and would incorporate the health care benefits and standards of other existing federal and state provisions, including the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medi-Cal, ancillary health care or social services covered by regional centers for persons with developmental disabilities, Knox-Keene, and the federal Medicare program.

The bill would require the board to seek all necessary waivers, approvals, and agreements to allow various existing federal health care payments to be paid to CalCare, which would then assume responsibility for all benefits and services previously paid for with those funds.

SB 380 (Eggman) - End of Life

Position: Support

Bill Summary:

This bill would allow for an individual to qualify for aid-in-dying medication by making two oral requests, regardless of the period between oral requests, and a written request when a physician has determined, within reasonable medical judgment, that the individual will die from their terminal illness in 15 days or less.

The bill would eliminate the requirement that an individual who is prescribed and ingests aid-in-dying medication make a final attestation. The bill would require that the date of all oral and written requests be documented in an individual’s medical record and would require that upon a transfer of care, that record be provided to the qualified individual.

The bill would extend the operation of the act indefinitely, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by extending the operation of crimes for specified violations of the act.