California Limits on Charges for Dialysis and Minimum Staffing of Clinics Initiative (2018)
| California Limits on Charges for Dialysis and Minimum Staffing of Clinics Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Healthcare and Labor and unions | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Limits on Charges for Dialysis and Minimum Staffing of Clinics Initiative (#17-0015) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have established minimum staff requirements for dialysis clinics. The minimum staffing ratios would have been as follows:[1]
- one nurse to eight patients (1:8) receiving direct clinic care;
- one hemodialysis technician to three patients (1:3) receiving direct clinic care; and
- one social worker and one registered dietician to 75 patients (1:75) per full-time equivalent schedule.
The measure would have required dialysis clinics to issue annual refunds to patients or the patients' payers, such as insurers, who were charged more than 115 percent of the average cost of dialysis treatment in California and the proportional costs to improve the clinic's healthcare quality that year. Clinics that did not issue required refunds would have been fined in an amount equal to 5 percent of their required refunds, but not to exceed $100,000.[1]
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers (SEIU-UHW) proposed this initiative and Proposition 8, which made the ballot and was defeated[2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | Authorizes State Regulation of Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Establishes Minimum Staffing Requirements and Limits Charges for Patient Care. Initiative Statute.[4] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[3]
| “ | 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.[4] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[3]
| “ | 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.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated state statute, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 5 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 365,880. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The timeline for the initiative was as follows:[5]
- Edward Howard and Benjamen Tracey submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on August 9, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on October 13, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by April 11, 2018, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0015," accessed August 16, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "While dialysis clinic battle brews at state Capitol, healthcare workers look to the ballot," August 9, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed August 16, 2017
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