Statement Gov. Schwarzenegger's Veto Of SB 981 From Bill Barcellona, By V.P. For Governmental Affairs, California Association Of Physician Groups

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 02 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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Bill Barcellona's Statement on Governor Schwarzenegger's Veto of SB 981:

"Senate Bill 981 would have banned the practice of balance billing but was fraught with problems that would have added significant medical cost inflation to the market place at a time when individuals, families and employers are struggling to pay for health benefits."

"The California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG) supports a prohibition against balance billing and has been a long time advocate of removing the patient as a pawn in billing disputes between medical providers. However, SB 981 was not the answer. It established a default payment rate to emergency room physicians that was 250% of Medicare rates - a proposed index that was nearly double the rate physicians groups currently pay to contracted emergency room medical groups."

"SB 981 would have caused a transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from already limited funding in the California primary care physician network to the emergency room physicians, who do not agree to work within the contracted provider network system. Primary care providers within Medi-Cal Managed Care would have also been required to pay non-contracted emergency room physicians at double the current existing contracted rates. This would have created less incentive for doctors to stay in the Medi-Cal Managed Care system, resulting in more patients using expensive emergency room services."

"Lastly Senate Bill 981 undermines the California Department of Managed Health Care's regulation that is scheduled to take effect next month, which protects the patient against balance billing by hospitals and hospital-based providers. That is why CAPG supports Governor Schwarzenegger's veto of SB 981 and his request for health plans, hospitals and physicians to work together and remove all patients completely from billing disputes."

CAPG represents more than 150 member physician groups throughout California that provide coordinated health care to more than 15 million patients.

CAPG