OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
LACMA PHYSICIAN DAVID H. AIZUSS, MD INSTALLED AS 151st CMA PRESIDENT
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4 ESSENTIALS FOR STARTING A SUCCESSFUL HEALTH CARE PRACTICE Wells Fargo (Article Credit: American City Business Journals)
It’s no secret that health care is a growing industry. As the Baby Boomer population ages and more people become insured, the demand for health care in the United States is expected to continue to grow rapidly. Nearly $3.4 trillion was spent on health care in the United States in 2016, a number projected to grow to $5.5 trillion by 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For the many health care practitioners who dream of having a piece of the pie and meeting the demand for quality care, the following tips could help you realize your goal of starting and maintaining your own practice. And, if your interests and pursuits are in another industry, these suggestions very well could apply to those business segments as well. 1) BUILD THE RIGHT TEAM | While the ever-changing climate of health care has added complexities, so have the resources to help health care professionals be successful. One of the best resources you can have if you’re looking to start your own practice is an experienced network of advisers. Creating a start-up team that consists of professionals with the health care experience, insight and expertise will help you make informed decisions on how to finance, market and operate your new practice. This team should include your business banker or financial adviser, accountant, marketing consultant, attorney, a health-care-focused real estate broker, and a mentor or business coach, among others. It’s imperative to do your research to make sure that the professional team you surround yourself with has the required credentials and a good reputation. 2) HAVE A VISION | Having a clear vision of the goals for your health care practice will help give you clear direction and guidance. Your vision should include what you want your practice to look like and what you want to achieve in the future. The more specific you are, the greater the chance you have of seeing your vision through and recruiting others to help you achieve your vision. Write your vision down and describe how it will become a reality. Share
it with your team. Once you build your practice, your vision may serve as a road map to keep your team and business on track while working toward your long-term destination. 3) DEVELOP YOUR BRAND | Research shows that people don’t have
relationships with products; they are loyal to brands. Having a brand identity is critical to your business because it’s what differentiates your practice from the next. Your personal brand is your living legacy. It starts with you at your core as a human, doctor and business owner. Your brand should feel natural, sincere and comfortable to you as the leader most accountable for maintaining it authentically. When your personal brand perfectly matches who you are at your core, it’s far easier for you to match it to the culture of your clinic and the actual experience of your patients. To get started, I recommend drafting what you would consider an ideal review from a patient and enlisting a brand consultant.
4) CREATE A BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL PLAN | A wellthought-out business plan may help you establish and stay focused on practice goals and objectives while also acting as an indispensable tool for communicating business objectives to lenders, contractors and staff. By making it a habit to refresh your business plan on a regular basis, you also can be better prepared for unexpected opportunities, such as the perfect new location or a great deal on new practice equipment or technology. Your business plan is also useful when applying for financing. Some graduates leave dental, medical and veterinary schools with a dream of owning their own practice and being in charge of their future. However, with the amount of student loan debt they may have after graduation, they often believe they can’t qualify for a business start-up loan and may even wonder if they already have too much of a financial burden to own a practice. This belief couldn’t be further from the truth. For example, some lenders may extend a business loan against future practice earnings.
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EDITOR Sheri Carr | editor@physiciansnewsnetwork.com ADVERTISING SALES Dari Pebdani 858.231.1231 | dpebdani@gmail.com
VOLUME 149 ISSUE 6 | NOV/DEC 2018
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David H. Aizuss, MD Troy Elander, MD Thomas Horowitz, DO Robert J. Rogers, MD HEADQUARTERS LOS ANGELES COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 1055 West 7th Street, Suite 2290 | Los Angeles, CA 90017 Tel 213.683.9900 | Fax 213.226.0350 www.losangelesmedicine.org LACMA OFFICERS PRESIDENT | C. Freeman, MD, MBA, FAPA PRESIDENT-ELECT | Sion Roy, MD TREASURER | Diana Shiba, MD SECRETARY | Jeffery Lee, MD IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT | William K. Averill, MD
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
C. Freeman, MD, MBA, FAPA
Gustavo Friederichsen
A MESSAGE FROM LACMA CEO
LACMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS COUNCILORS-AT-LARGE TRUSTEES & CHAIR DELEGATION Jerry Abraham, MD (1) Jack Chou, MD, CMA Trustee Samuel Fink, MD (6) Jerry P. Abraham, MD, MPH, Chair of the LACMA Delegation Kambiz Kosari, MD (6) Peter Richman, MD, CMA Trustee Maria Lymberis, MD (5) Nhat Tran, MD (9) COUNCILORS Robert Bitonte, MD, JD (D1) Stephanie Booth, MD (D3) Troy Elander, MD (D5) Marc Mendes, MD (D6) David Hopp, MD (D7) Omer Deen, MD (D9) Christine Phan, MD (D10) William Hale, MD (D14) Roxana Yoonessi, MD, JD (SCPMG) Heather Silverman, MD (SSGPF) Po-Yin Samuel Huang, MD (1, YP Councilor) Hector Flores, MD (1, EPC Chair) Laura Halpin, MD (Resident Councilor) Sameer Berry, MD (Alt. Resident Councilor) Ali Tafreshi (Student Councilor, USC)
LACMA’s Board of Directors consists of a group of 30 dedicated physicians who are working hard to uphold your rights and the rights of your patients. They always welcome hearing your comments and concerns. You can contact them by emailing or calling Lisa Le, Director of Governance, at lisa@lacmanet.org or 213-226-0304. SUBSCRIPTIONS Members of the Los Angeles County Medical Association: Los Angeles Medicine is a benefit of your membership. Additional copies and back issues: $3 each. Nonmember subscriptions: $39 per year. Single copies: $5. To order or renew a subscription, make your check payable to Los Angeles Medicine, 10755 Scripps Poway Parkway, Suite 615 | San Diego, CA 92131. To inform us of a delivery problem, email editors@physiciansnewsnetwork.com. Acceptance of advertising in Los Angeles Medicine in no way constitutes approval or endorsement by LACMA Services Inc. The Los Angeles County Medical Association reserves the right to reject any advertising. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and not necessarily those of Los Angeles Medicine, LACMA Services Inc. or the Los Angeles County Medical Association. Los Angeles Medicine reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity and length, as well as to reject any material submitted. Los Angeles Medicine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.
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From Austin to Kurdistan, Iraq: LACMA Member Dr. Sunny Jha Takes Action CMA INSTALLS NEW PRESIDENT
DAVID H. AIZUSS, MD
Governor Signs 8 New Laws That Affect Employers
Los Angeles Medicine (ISSN 1533-9254) is published bimonthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun & Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/ Dec) by LACMA Services Inc. (a subsidiary of the Los Angeles County Medical Association) at 1055 West 7th Street, Suite 2290 Los Angeles, CA 90017-2548. Periodicals Postage Paid at Los Angeles, California, and at additional mailing offices. Copyright ©2017 by LACMA Services Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Los Angeles Medicine, 1055 West 7th Street, Suite 2290, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Advertising rates and information sent upon request. Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation: Publication Title: Los Angeles Medicine. Publication Number: 1533-9254. Filing Date: 10/01/18. Issue Frequency: Bimonthly. Number of Issues Published Annually: 6. Annual Subscription Price: $39. Complete Mailing address of Known Office of Publication: 1055 West 7th Street, #2290 Los Angeles, CA 90017-2548. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 1055 West 7th Street, #2290 Los Angeles, CA 90017-2548. Publisher/Editor: Sheri Carr, 10755 Scripps Poway Pkwy., #615, San Diego, CA 92131-3924; Owner: LACMA Services, Inc. 1055 West 7th Street, #2290 Los Angeles, CA 90017-2548. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or more of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months. Publication Title: Los Angeles Medicine. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Sep/Oct 2018. Extent and Nature of Circulation - 15a. Total Number of Copies: 4940 (avg)/4123 (actual); 15b1. 4538 (avg)/3787 (actual); 15b2. 0 (avg)/0(actual); 15b3. 0 (avg)/0(actual); 15b4. 0 (avg)/0(actual); 15c. 4538 (avg)/3787 (actual); 15d1. 0 (avg)/0(actual); 15d2. 0 (avg)/0(actual); 15d3. 0 (avg)/0 (actual); 15b4. 402 (avg)/336(actual); 15e. 402 (avg)/336(actual); 15f. 49403 (avg)/4123 (actual). 15g. 0(avg)/0 (actual). 15h.4940 (avg)/4123 (actual). 15i. 92 (avg)/92 (actual). 16a: Requested and Paid Electronic Copies: 6957 (avg)/6698 (actual); 16b. Total Requested and Paid Print Copes + Requested/Paid Elctronic Copies: 11,495 (avg)/10,485(actual); Percent Paid and/or Rueqested Cirulation (both print and electronic copies); 97 (avg)/97(actual). Publication of Ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the Nov/Dec 2018 issue of the Publication. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner. , Publisher. 10/1/18.
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LACMA PRESIDENT
C . F R E E M A N , M D, M B A , FA PA
LACMA Leads in Leadership I voted! Did you? This message frequently popped up on social media outlets on or near Election Day on Nov. 6. Across the nation, people rallied to motivate others to act, to have their voices heard through the electoral process, and to select leaders that voters feel are best to represent and advocate for their concerns. Here in California, the message was received weeks before as physicians gathered in Sacramento at the California Medical Association (CMA) annual House of Delegates to establish policy on current major issues and to install the 151st president, David H. Aizuss, MD, a 37-year CMA and LACMA member. Dr. Aizuss reminds us, “Californians continue to face barriers in accessing timely, affordable and quality healthcare.” Dr. Aizuss is an example of how organizations such as LACMA serve as training grounds for those physicians who, as leaders, can best represent and advocate for their patients and protect the practice of medicine. Another successful LACMA physician leader is Sion Roy, MD. Dr. Roy is newly elected to the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees. Dr. Roy, who has been a member of CMA and LACMA since his fellowship in cardiology at Harbor UCLA Hospital, is also the CALPAC vice chair and the LACMA president-elect. Dr. Roy has not only benefited from the LACMA leadership training ground but also continues to motivate other physicians to extend their influence beyond organized medicine. Many LACMA physicians hold positions in specialty organizations, the AMA, the NMA, hospital medical staff, and corporate boards. Hence, LACMA remains an excellent training ground for physician leaders. If you have no leadership experience, LACMA can provide that training to help you be a successful leader. Just as physicians master biochemistry and human physiology, physicians can learn leadership skills. I encourage you to join LACMA and experience the benefit of leadership training. If you are already a member, it is time for you to be more active as a leader so that maybe one day the message frequently popping up on social media outlets reads, “I voted! I voted for you!”
“[O]rganizations such as LACMA serve as training grounds for those physicians who, as leaders, can best represent and advocate for their patients and protect the practice of medicine.”
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LACMA CEO
G U S TAV O F R I E D E R I C H S E N
Servant Leadership I’ve shared my thoughts on servant leadership in prior communications and columns. Never has there been a more relevant time to embody true servant leadership as now. In the face of another mass shooting followed by the deadliest fires in our state’s history, a time when physicians were both healers and victims, our physician leaders personified servant leadership: LACMA members offered support and even housing and, through joint efforts, raised funds for accommodations and rebuilding. As David H. Aizuss, MD, CMA president, stressed: “The full impact of the wildfires’ destruction is yet to be seen, but the physician community needs our help. Physicians provide an invaluable service to their patients and neighbors, so when they’re displaced, or their medical practice destroyed, it creates a negative ripple effect throughout the entire community. CMA and Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) stand in support of its members, and we will leverage our significant resources to help rebuild their homes, medical practices and communities.” Shortly after I took the helm of LACMA in March 2016, I sat down with Dr. Aizuss. He took the time to give me a unique perspective on the dichotomy facing the physician community: Physicians naturally want to give, sacrifice and care but are reluctant to participate in organized medicine for a variety of reasons. Some reasons may be political or ideological, while others are simply based on economics or a return on their investment. He offered a sobering challenge as well: to focus on rebuilding LACMA and forget about the noise. The noise can be a distraction and a cancer that begins to erode progress, transformational progress. Nearly three years later I start each day with a simple mantra, to trust the process and do whatever I can for our members and the entire physician community. Anything or anyone that tries to derail progress for personal or ideological gain will be met with a courteous objection. Dr. Aizuss also stressed that LACMA must always serve physicians so that physicians can serve their patients and communities. He might not have known it back then, but Dr. Aizuss exuded servant leadership. As opposed to today’s more authoritarian leaders, the servant leader does not depend on accumulating or exercising power within an organization like LACMA; instead, the servant leader does the following:
“CMA and PHC stand in support of its members, and we will leverage our significant resources to help rebuild their homes, medical practices and communities. “
• Considers the needs of others first. Servant leaders focus on satisfying the highestpriority needs of others. Servant leaders feel a strong sense of caring and responsibility for their staff. • Commits to helping others develop expertise and improve performance. Servant leaders prioritize the personal and professional development of others, ensuring they build their knowledge base and professional skills. • Insists that the organization makes a positive contribution to society. While not losing their focus on a healthy bottom line, servant leaders make sure an organization improves its community, region and nation. Thank you, Dr. Aizuss, for your wisdom and most of all your leadership with so many possible distractions, threats to progress and a challenging environment. Another incredible, inspiring servant leader is anesthesiologist Sachin “Sunny” Jha, MD. Young but not brash or overconfident, Sunny is humble, affable and always approachable. There is never a hidden agenda or overt ambition. On the next page, you can read about how Dr. Jha has taken selflessness to new heights by serving as part of a group who worked with local and regional public health officials in Iraq to provide medical services. The lesson I learned from Sunny’s story is simple: He never promoted his journey or his own influence on the lives he touched. He never asked for the limelight. Instead, it is his captivating humility that inspired me to share his story. In fact, when you have the privilege of meeting Sunny, you rarely hear the word “I”. In this case I wanted to honor Dr. Jha for his inspired leadership and his service to others and the example he sets even for this leader. Two leaders, different generations, specialties and backgrounds, yet transcendent nonetheless because they put others and the profession before themselves. Thank you, Dr. Aizuss and Dr. Jha.
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FROM AUSTIN TO KURDISTAN, IRAQ: LACMA Member and Presidential Leadership Scholar
DR. SUNNY JHA TAKES ACTION via www.presidentialleadershipscholars.org
practices, such as epidural implementation. With a focus on Each year, Presidential Leadership Scholars gather over the medical capacity-building and sustainability, the group led a course of six months to hone their leadership abilities through research symposium attended by over a hundred local medical interactions with former presidents, key administration officials, professionals, trainees, and students at the American University of leading academics, and business and civic leaders. Kurdistan. These conference lectures, on This year, at the Lyndon B. Johnson topics relevant to the local communities, Presidential Center in Austin, Texas, highlighted the necessity of up-to-date a discussion of international medical medical practices and reinforced the trips between two 2018 Presidential Dr. Jha, a Clinical Assistant attendees’ role as medical pioneers. Leadership Scholars (PLS) led them to Professor of Anesthesiology Dr. Jha has also been working with a embark on one themselves. at USC, is a LACMA and CMA device manufacturer (Avanos) to send the USC anesthesiologist and LACMA physician leader. He is involved Kurdish anesthesiologists advanced nerve physician Dr. Sachin “Sunny” Jha, along with the AMA as a House of Delegates representative block equipment to continue the work the with surgeon Quyen Chu, recognized advocating on a number of issues, team taught them and to safely treat pain the shortage of experience, resources, including opioid and tobacco use, with opioid sparing techniques. and technical expertise burdening some obesity, Zika virus and trans fats. The team also visited a Syrian refugee developing nations. More specifically, He continues to be very active camp near Duhok where they distributed Quyen had identified the necessity of as a physician advocate and was recently elected to serve as the aid and provided group therapy sessions safe anesthesia services for effective sergeant at arms for LACMA’s and coping strategies to the camp’s surgical care. After a discussion at the delegation to the California children. fifth PLS Module, Quyen invited Sunny Medical Association. “This trip embodies the true spirit of to join him on what would be his fourth PLS,” said Dr. Jha. “Quyen and I shared medical trip to Kurdistan, Iraq. our common passion for giving back The two were part of a group of 18 and did so in a truly meaningful way. Our individuals (comprised of physicians, collaboration on this trip was only made possible by PLS.” The resident trainees, translators, and more from across the United team is planning to go back to Kurdistan in April of next year. States) who worked with local and regional public health officials Presidential Leadership Scholars serves as a catalyst for a in Kurdistan to provide capacity-building, sustainable medical diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and services – such as providing supplies essential to modern surgery make a difference in the world as they learn about leadership and anesthesia. through the lens of the presidential experiences of George W. Local patients were examined and scheduled for surgery Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. by the team, and local physicians were taught surgical best
MEDICAL BOARD HOSPITAL STAFF F R A U D / A B U S E MEDI-CAL/M E D I C A R E
MEDICAL PRACTICE PURCHASES, SALES AND MERGERS
Dr. Jha (back row), Dr. Chu and their team at the American University of Kurdistan.
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Sunny speaks with a child at Domiz Syrian Refugee Camp.
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David H. Aizuss
CMA Installs 151st President
Los Angeles Ophthalmologist
The California Medical Association (CMA) installed Los Angeles ophthalmologist David H. Aizuss, MD, as its 151st president during the organization’s annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Sacramento in October. In his address to 500 delegates from across the state, Dr. Aizuss said that physician satisfaction and practice sustainability would be among his top priorities in the upcoming year. “The presence of third parties in clinical decision-making is corrosive to our relationship with patients,” said Dr. Aizuss. “We must protect both our patients and professional prerogatives, independence and authority.” Dr. Aizuss also noted that heavy administrative demands and emerging payment systems have forced physicians to spend increasing amounts of time on computer work at the expense of patient care, leading to physician dissatisfaction and burnout. “CMA recognizes the urgent need for additional programming to mitigate physician burnout… Good care includes caring for us, the physicians,” said Dr. Aizuss. LACMA’s current president, Dr. C. Freeman, LACMA’s first African American president, introduced Dr. Aizuss to an enthusiastic audience at the 22nd Annual Presidential Gala.
, MD
PHOTOS 1) Dr. Aizuss and his family at the Presidential Gala 2) CMA Physicians and guests danced and enjoyed live entertainment throughout the evening 3) LACMA’s current president, Dr. C. Freeman, introduced Dr. Aizuss at the Presidential Gala 4) Dr. Aizuss enjoying the gala’s Cirque du Soleil themed celebration 5) Dr. Aizuss and his wife, Felicia
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“Our CMA brand has strength, effectiveness, power and influence,” said Dr. Aizuss. “My goal as your president is to be an effective spokesman and to communicate your concerns, desires, needs and hopes for a professionally satisfying medical practice and effective patient care.” Dr. Aizuss has been a CMA and Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) member for 37 years. He has been a member of the CMA Board of Trustees since 2010—serving as vice-chair and chair of the board before being named presidentelect at last year’s HOD. Dr. Aizuss has also represented the physicians of California as a delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA), and is currently serving on the AMA Council on Legislation. Dr. Aizuss is a former president of LACMA and the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. Through the David H. Aizuss, M.D., Medical Corporation, and the Ophthalmology Associates of the Valley Medical Surgical Group, a partnership of medical corporations, Dr. Aizuss focuses exclusively on direct patient care. He is a medical staff member at Tarzana Hospital and West Hills Hospital, in Los Angeles County, and serves as an assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and completed his residency and fellowship in ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles.
2018-2019 CMA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT
David H. Aizuss, MD | Los Angeles
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Peter N. Bretan, Jr., MD | Watsonville
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Robert E. Wailes, MD | Oceanside/Encinitas
VICE-CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Shannon L. Udovic-Constant, MD | San Francisco
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
Lee T. Snook, Jr., MD | Sacramento
VICE-SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
Tanya W. Spirtos, MD | Redwood City
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Theodore M. Mazer, MD | San Diego
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HOUSE OF DELEGATES
CMA Outlines Bold Agenda to Improve Affordability, Access and Quality A MESSAGE FROM LEE T. SNOOK, JR., MD, FACP, SPEAKER & TANYA W. SPIRTOS, MD, VICE-SPEAKER
Dear Physician Colleagues, Your California Medical Association (CMA) recently convened the 147th annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Sacramento. Over 500 California physicians gathered to debate on the most critical issues affecting members, the Association, and the practice of medicine. The major focus of HOD was the creation of an initial framework for a bold agenda to increase health care affordability, improve health care delivery, create efficiencies throughout the health care system, and improve health outcomes, which includes addressing social determinants of health and expanding telehealth services. Virtually all of us have directly witnessed the impacts on our patients, but the following statistics bear repeating because they reinforce the critical nature of CMA’s charge: Prescription drugs prices have increased 25 percent since 2012 (Health Care Cost Institute). Health insurance deductibles have more than doubled since 2008, and half of all workers now have a deductible of at least $1,000 for an individual, up from 22 percent in 2009 (Kaiser Family Foundation). Employer-sponsored insurance premiums have risen from $6,000 in 1999 to more than $18,000 in 2016, and out-of-pocket costs have increased by more than 53 percent between 2006 and 2016 (Economic Policy Institute). The average American spent $10,345 on health care in 2016, yet roughly 41 percent of Americans say they can’t pay a $400 emergency expense without borrowing or selling something (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Federal Reserve). Thirty-three percent of Americans with health insurance said they or a family member had problems affording care in the last year (Kaiser Family Foundation survey). Twenty-seven percent of our time is spent with patients, while nearly half is spent on electronic health records or other desk work. Spending three hours a day on administrative tasks equals a loss of 2,200 patient visits per physician per year (Annals of Internal Medicine).
LACMA at House of Delegates 2018
At the 147th House of Delegates, led by Delegation Chair Maria Lymberis, MD, approximately 30 LACMA physician leaders traveled to Sacramento to tackle major issues affecting physicians, the Association and the practice of medicine. Joined by nearly 500 delegates elected by members of component medical societies, specialty societies, and CMA sections and forums, representing virtually every mode of practice and region of the state, physician leaders shared their voices on issues impacting care, access, wellness, healthcare disparities and policy. Actionable reports on those topics were presented and debated, and educational speakers provided additional insight. This year, the delegates tackled one major issue with many facets —addressing the cost and affordability of healthcare. Because this year’s topic was a complex issue, it was divided up into four categories.
Dr. Lymberis, second from left, with new officers of LACMA’s delegation to the CMA: Dr. Jerry Abraham, Dr. Stacey Ludwig, and Dr. Samuel Huang.
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Addressing Utilization Through Improved Care Delivery Addressing Increasing Pharmaceutical Costs Reducing Administrative Burdens on Physician Practices Enhancing Competitiveness of the Healthcare Market
As the 2018 HOD came to a close, LACMA welcomed Jerry P. Abraham, MD, MPH, CMQ; Stacey Ludwig, MD; Samuel Huang, MD; and Sunny Jha, MD, as the new officers of LACMA’s delegation to the CMA.
CMA President David H. Aizuss, MD, put it best: “Health care costs continue to grow, with patients paying more and getting less except for more insurance company denials, prescription medication denials and more runarounds, resulting in larger medical bills that for-profit insurers should pay but don’t. This is our current reality and the battle we must fight.” With physicians at the center of health care delivery, CMA has long advocated on behalf of our patients to ensure they are receiving affordable, timely and quality care, and we doubled down on that commitment at HOD. After hearing expert testimony, CMA debated and identified four critical issues that California must address to make health care affordable while improving quality and access: Improve patient access and quality of care by reforming health care delivery and utilization by making payment and delivery more efficient, as well as expand telehealth. Expand patient choice and affordability by increasing competition throughout health care with market-based solutions. Maximize physicians’ time spent with patients by reducing administrative burdens and eliminating duplicative tasks that add unnecessary costs without improving health outcomes. CMA also remains committed to ensuring that all modes of medical practices are financially vibrant. Ensure patients have access to necessary treatment and medications by addressing pharmaceutical costs. In the coming months, CMA will develop targeted, pragmatic and workable solutions, as well as continue to work with our members, health care stakeholders and policymakers to ensure patients can access quality care in an affordable and timely manner. As a physician-led organization, CMA’s collective strength is derived from the dedication and passion of its membership. We thank the HOD delegates, and we thank you for your continued commitment to patients and the profession. Sincerely, Lee T. Snook, Jr., MD, FACP, Speaker Tanya W. Spirtos, MD, Vice-Speaker
As a reminder, any member of LACMA and CMA can be involved in the House of Delegates and share his or her voice on the issues addressed. We encourage all members to be involved in the resolution process because it preserves the value of each member’s perspectives and experience and empowers physicians to shape the ever-changing healthcare landscape.
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Governor Brown signed eight new laws that affect employers. The bills are designed to strengthen the enforcement of sexual harassment laws and make it easier for victims to pursue civil claims. Below is a brief description of each law: SB 1343 | EMPLOYERS WITH FIVE OR MORE EMPLOYEES: This bill requires employers with five or more employees, including temporary or seasonal employees, to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all supervisors and at least one hour of sexual harassment training to all nonsupervisory employees by January 1, 2020, and training every two years thereafter.
Governor Signs 8 New Laws That Affect Employers PRESENTED BY WORKWISE LAW www.workwiselaw.com
SB 1412 | APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT; CRIMINAL HISTORY: This bill clarifies what information employers may use when screening job applicants. There are certain employers who, by law, have to inquire into the criminal backgrounds of applicants and can deny those applicants a job based upon certain categories of criminal offense and criminal conduct. This law clarifies what those limited exception employers may ask. SB 224 | INCREASES TYPES OF JOB TITLES THAT CAN BE PERSONALLY LIABLE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT: The bill adds “investor, elected official, lobbyist, director, and producer among those listed persons who may be liable for sexual harassment (on an individual basis) under Civil Code Section 51.9. SB 1252 | PAYROLL RECORDS: The existing law grants current and former employees the right to inspect or copy records pertaining to their employment, upon reasonable request. The law also requires that employers respond to these requests within 21 days. The amended law requires that employers must provide a copy upon request, rather than requiring the employee to make a copy. The amendment leaves in place the employer’s right to charge the employee “the actual cost of reproduction.” SB 1300 | UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES: DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT: This law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to execute a release of a claim or right under FEHA or from requiring an employee to sign a non-disparagement agreement or otherwise deny the employee the right to disclose information about unlawful acts in the workplace, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, as a condition of receiving a raise or bonus, or as a condition of continued employment. SB 826 | CORPORATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MUST HAVE A SET NUMBER OF WOMEN: In furtherance of creating gender equality, the governor mandated that public companies with principal executive offices in the state of California must have a set number of women on the board of directors. SB 820 | SEXUAL HARASSMENT, ASSAULT AND DISCRIMINATION CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSES: This bill prohibits settlement agreements to include a provision that prevents the disclosure of factual information relating to certain claims of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination. AB 1309 | WAIVER OF RIGHT OF PETITION OR FREE SPEECH: This bill makes any provision in a contract or settlement agreement, entered after January 1, 2019, unenforceable that waives a party’s right to testify in an administrative, legislative or judicial proceeding relating to alleged criminal conduct or alleged sexual harassment on the part of the other party when subpoenaed or requested by writing by an administrative body.
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