SMCMA Delegation meets with local Legislators in Sacramento May 2, 2025 Areas of interest(s): Advocacy, Legislative Advocacy Day In April, a delegation of Physician Leaders from your SMCMA attended CMA’s 51st Annual Legislative Advocacy Day in Sacramento. During the event, the SMCMA Delegation met with Senator Josh Becker (SD-13), Assemblymember Marc Berman (AD-23), and the office of Assemblymember Diane Papan (AD-21) to discuss priority bills that are currently in the legislative process, including the following: CMA’s Sponsored Prior Authorization Reform Package (SUPPORT) Senate Bill 306 (Becker): Requires health plans to remove the requirement for prior authorization from any service that they approve more than 90% of the time. This will reduce the overall volume of prior authorization requests and ensure that patients can receive the care they need with minimal delay and physicians can spend more time focusing on patient care. Assembly Bill 510 (Addis): Requires that appeals of prior authorization denials be performed by a provider of the same or similar specialty. This will help ensure that providers can discuss prior authorization denials with a professional peer who understands the recommended treatment and underlying condition. Assembly Bill 539 (Schiavo): Extends the validity of an approved prior authorization to one year (current industry standard is between 60-90 days). This will provide patients with a longer window of time to receive medically necessary care and avoid cumbersome prior authorization review (and ultimately appeal) processes. Assembly Bill 512 (Harabedian): Requires health plans to respond to urgent prior authorization requests within 24 hours and respond to nonurgent requests within 48 hours. Currently, health plans have 72 hours for urgent and five days for nonurgent requests. This change will ensure more patients can receive care in a timely fashion, consistent with the urgency of their condition or can swiftly appeal any denials, if necessary. Physician Health & Wellness Program (SUPPORT) Assembly Bill 408 (Berman): Establishes a physician health and wellness program (PHP) that aligns with national best practices to provide a proactive approach to address mental health and burnout issues. This bill would enable the Medical Board of California to prevent patient harm by connecting impaired or at-risk physicians with treatment. CMA supports AB 408 because it creates an effective, confidential program – similar to those in other states – that supports physicians’ health and wellness and protects patients by allowing physicians to be at their best. CMA is working with the medical board and the author to ensure the bill will be most effective in meeting its goals of ensuring that physicians have access to support when they need it. Pandemic Exceptions for Medical Liability (OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED) Senate Bill 29 (Laird): Seeks to permanently extend pandemic-era exceptions in medical malpractice cases, despite the fact such exemptions were intended to be temporary to address the issue of backlogged courts during the pandemic. CMA is seeking amendments to carve out medical malpractice claims from SB 29 because of the historic reforms to California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, made through AB 35 in 2022, which were implemented with the understanding that the exceptions in SB 447 would sunset. Under AB 35, pain and suffering awards in cases involving a patient death increased to $500,000 on the effective date of January 1, 2023, with incremental increases over the next 10 years to $1 million. The SMCMA Delegation included: Dr. Connor Lundy, 2025 SMCMA President; Dr. Sunil Bhopale, Board Member; Dr. David Goldschmid, Past President; Dr. Patrick Lenaghan, Member; Dr. Barbara Weissman, Past President; and Keith Darby, SMCMA Executive Director. In addition, members from the Santa Clara County Medical Association also attended the meetings, including CMA Immediate Past President and SMCMA Member Dr. Tanya Spirtos. SMCMA leadership is gracious for the willingness of each respective office to take the time to discuss these important items impacting patient access, patient safety, and the practice of medicine. This event and open dialogue continues the legacy of positive relationships maintained by your SMCMA with our local elected officials. You can view photos of the event HERE.
