Health Policy and Practice Update: CANP Sponsors SB 294 (Negrete McLeod) to Eliminate Practice Barriers and Improve Access to Care

February 26, 2009

Welcome to the 2009-2010 Legislative Session! CANP has been working with our new lobbying team, Kristy Wiese, MPPA of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parinello, Mueller, & Naylor, LLP (www.nmgovlaw.com), planning our 2009 legislative agenda over the past five months. CANP is once again sponsoring a bill to remove practice barriers with the goal of improving access to high quality healthcare in California.

CANP’s Policy team includes the Director of Health Policy and Practice, Susanne Phillips, MSN, FNP-BC, Lobbyist, Kristy Wiese, MPPA, Health Policy Chair, Beth Haney, MN, FNP-BC, and Practice Issues Chair, Surani Kwan, MSN, FNP-BC. This group of consultants and CANP board members has developed a sound legislative agenda for this session and we would like all of you to be an active participant in the legislative process.

In September 2008, an email survey was sent to members requesting their input into the most frequent practice barriers they encounter on a day-to-day basis, impairing their ability to provide timely health care access. The results of the informal survey included five barriers most commonly experienced by nurse practitioner respondents: inability to sign admission orders to hospitals, inability to order durable medical equipment, inability to certify disability, inability to be designated as a patient’s primary care provider and be listed on insurance panels (ghost provider status), and the inability to approve, sign, or modify a plan of care for a patient requiring home health services.

Following careful analysis of our prior legislative activity, the current political climate, and the practice barriers identified by our members, our lobbying team recommended a conservative, step-wise approach to our agenda this year. Senate Bill (SB) 294 (Negrete McLeod), CANP’s 2009 sponsor legislation, seeks to clarify legal authorization to perform these services within your standardized procedure or protocol.

CANP is honored to be working with Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D), representing the 38th Senate District which encompasses the cities of Colton, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rialto and San Bernardino including the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy in San Bernardino County; and portions of Chino and the entire City of Pomona in Los Angeles County. Senator Negrete McLeod is the Chair of Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development, and a staunch supporter of nursing. For those of you, who live in Senator Negrete McLeod’s district; please send her a note of thanks for working with CANP this year. Her contact information is listed below.

We look forward to working with you as we move through the legislative session! Please make sure to sign up for CapWiz on CANP’s website: www.canpweb.org so you are ready to write those letters!

Senator Negrete-McLeod: http://dist32.casen.govoffice.com/

Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 2059
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4032
Fax: (916) 445-0128

Montclair Office
4959 Palo Verde Street, Suite 100B
Montclair, CA
91763
Phone: (909) 621-2783
Fax: (909) 621-7483

San Bernardino Office
357 West Second Street, Suite 1
San Bernardino, CA 92401
Phone: (909) 381-3832
Fax: (909) 381-0739

November 2008 Legislative Pulse