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AP17:081

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2017, 2017
Contact:
Jesse Melgar or Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Authorizes State Regulation of Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Establishes Minimum Staffing Requirements and Limits Charges for Patient Care. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today. 

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows: 

AUTHORIZES STATE REGULATION OF KIDNEY DIALYSIS CLINICS. ESTABLISHES MINIMUM STAFFING REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITS CHARGES FOR PATIENT CARE. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Establishes minimum staffing requirements for nurses, technicians, and other staff at outpatient kidney dialysis clinics and sets minimum transition time between patients. Limits amounts clinics may charge for patient care and imposes penalties for excessive charges. Requires annual inspections and reporting to the state regarding clinic costs, patient charges, revenue, staffing ratios, and transition times between patients. Authorizes investigations and imposes fines for violations. Prohibits clinics from discriminating against patients based on the source of payment for care. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: State administrative costs of around $10 million annually to be covered by increases in license fees on chronic dialysis clinics. State and local government savings associated with reduced government employee and retiree health benefits spending on dialysis treatment, potentially up to tens of millions of dollars annually. Net state government costs for Medi-Cal, potentially in the low tens of millions of dollars annually in the long run. (17-0015.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1811 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 17-0015. 

The proponent of the measure, BJ Chisholm, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 11, 2018. The proponent can be reached (415) 421-7151 or bchisholm@altber.com.   

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