Legislative Update January 28, 2008
Author: Kathy Lynch
Legislative Update
By Kathy Lynch, Vice President of Government Affairs
January 28, 2008
Last week, the Senate Health Committee held a hearing on ABx1 1 (Nunez), the health care reform proposal supported by the Governor and Speaker Nunez. There was extensive testimony from all parties. Today, the Senate Health Committee voted on the bill. ABx1 1 did not have the sufficient votes to make it out of the Senate Health Committee. Typically the author would ask for reconsideration of the bill but the Speaker declined this option due to the numerous “no” votes from the members of the Senate Health Committee. During the hearing, many legislators reasserted their commitment to working on health care reform, specifically the efforts to provide health care coverage to children. More information on where these efforts should be provided during the next few weeks.
As Lynn mentioned in her CEO message, last week the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services met on Wednesday to hear from the Administration and affected parties, regarding the Governor's proposed budget actions. After the Administration made its presentations, approximately 100 individuals (including a representative of CPhA) testified in opposition to the proposed actions. The Subcommittee took no action, but is expected to do so within the next few weeks. We are formulating an action strategy to involve members in communicating to these decision-makers the devastating impact these cuts would have on pharmacy. We will let you know when the time is right for these communications. Please be ready to act!
The bill introduction deadline for the 2008 Legislation Session is February 22nd. We will post a chart of the introduced bills and CPhA's positions after review and decisions are made by the CPhA Legislative Committee. Below please find updates on the bills heard last week and a list of those that will be heard this week.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at klynch@cpha.com or (916) 779-1400.
Thank you very much for your continued support!
Kathy
Update on Bills Heard Last Week
AB 501 (Swanson) Pharmaceutical Devices
CPhA position: Watch
AB 501 was read a second time and sent to third reading.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_501&sess=CUR&house=B&author=swanson
ABx1 1 (Nunez) Health Care Reform
CPhA Position: Watch
Testimony was heard on January 23rd and ABX1 1 will be heard again January 28th.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=abx1_1&sess=CUR&house=B&author=nunez
AB 30 (Evans) Health Care Coverage: Inborn Errors of Metabolism
CPhA Position: Watch
AB 30 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_30&sess=CUR&house=B&author=evans
AB 259 (Adams) Crimes: Sale or Distribution of Salvia Divinorum
CPhA position: Watch
AB 259 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee and was placed on the consent calendar.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_259&sess=CUR&house=B&author=adams
AB 851 (Brownley) Medi-Cal: Eligibility
CPhA position: Watch
AB 851 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_851&sess=CUR&house=B&author=brownley
AB 1154 (Leno) Diabetes
CPhA position: Watch
AB 1154 was amended and passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee as amended.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_1154&sess=CUR&house=B&author=leno
AB 1436 (Hernandez) Nurse Practitioners
CPhA position: Watch
AB 1436 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee and was placed on the consent calendar.
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_1436&sess=CUR&house=B&author=hernandez
Monday, January 28, 2008 Senate Health Committee
ABx1 1 (Nunez) Health Care Reform
ABX1 1 relates to the Health Care Cost and Quality Transparency Committee, requiring residents to enroll in and maintain minimum health care coverage, the Cooperative Health Insurance Purchasing Program, the Healthy Action Incentives and Rewards Program, Medi-Cal hospital rate stabilization, health insurance market reforms, health care service plans' prescription drug benefits, employer cafeteria plans, a diabetes services program, medical assistants, nurse practitioners, and electronic prescribing.
CPhA Position: Watch
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=abx1_1&sess=CUR&house=B&author=nunez
Monday, January 28, 2008 Senate Floor
SB 349 (Perata) Health Care Electronic Billing
SB 349 would require that, if a subscriber or enrollee of a health care service plan or a policyholder or insured of a health insurer does not consent to electronic billing, the plan or insurer shall provide a paper copy of any bill directed to that subscriber, enrollee, policyholder, or insured at no charge.
CPhA Position: Watch
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=sb_349&sess=CUR&house=B&author=perata
AB 2 (Dymally) Health Care Coverage
AB 2 requires a health care service plan and a health insurer to continue to provide coverage to each individual who was terminated from a specified pilot program, with the benefits and premium for that coverage being determined by the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program. AB 2 requires those entities to make available to all of its group or individual plans to individuals in each service area, or to pay a fee covering its market share. AB 2 requires entities not paying the fee to submit their plans for approval.
CPhA Position: Watch
To read the full text of this bill click or cut and paste:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_2&sess=CUR&house=B&author=dymally
Update on the Board of Pharmacy Meeting
Last Thursday, the Board held a hearing, which was requested by CPhA, on the proposed compounding regulations. There were several compounding pharmacists who provided detailed comments and testimony for the Board. The Board voted to provide the revised compounding regulations for a 15-day comment period and to take up the regulations for a vote at the next Board meeting.
Update on the AWP Lawsuit Settlement
Court Nixes Drug Price Rollback Proposal, Tells Parties to Come Back in Two Weeks
A federal court Jan. 22 refused to give final approval to a proposed class settlement with publishers of prescription drug prices and told the parties to come back to court with a new proposal within two weeks (New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund v. First Databank Inc., D. Mass., No. 1:05-CV-11148-PBS, 1/22/08).
Sending the parties back to the drawing board, Judge Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts refused to bless a proposed settlement under which First DataBank Inc., the most widely used publisher of prescription drug prices in the United States; Medi-Span, another publisher of prescription drug prices; and plaintiff health plans and consumers agreed on a reduction to published prices on a large percent of branded drugs sold at retail in the United States.
One attendee at the Jan. 22 fairness hearing told BNA that it appears that there is "almost nothing" left of the settlements as originally proposed.
First DataBank and Medi-Span are private companies that gather and disseminate prescription drug pricing information, including average wholesale price (AWP) and wholesaler acquisition cost (WAC), to public health programs and private health insurers. The proposed settlement, which seeks to end part of a dispute over alleged overcharges for prescription drugs, stems from a 2005 class-action lawsuit brought by the New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund and AFSCME District Council 37 Health and Security Plan against First DataBank and drug wholesaler McKesson Corp.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a nationwide recall of all lots of heparin and saline pre-filled flush syringes manufactured by AM2 PAT, Inc., of Angier, N.C. Two lots have been found to be contaminated with Serratia marcescens, a bacterium that can cause serious injury or death. To read the entire January 25, 2008 News Release use this link: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01785.html