Subject: VETO AB 1235 - Ben Shwachman, MD JD - Re: Corporate Control of Medical Peer Review
To the Honorable Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
Following, please find, Dr. Shwachman's further analysis of AB 1235, dated September 21, 2010, enclosed.
Ben Shwachman MD JD is member of the Board of Trustees of the California Medical Association, CMA,
Past President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association, LACMA, Past President of the Solo Group of CMA,...
Ben has been a powerful voice for many years and is at the forefront of the battlefield against Sham Peer Review,
which he fought successfully on his behalf and other physicians, when representing them, as their attorney.
From: Ben Shwachman, MD JD
Subject: Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger to VETO AB 1235 and PASS SB 700 - Medical Peer Review
Date: September 21, 2010 6:56:50 PM PDT
To:
Who is kidding who ?
Right to an attorney ????
Read this: AB 1235
(c) The (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a peer review
body shall adopt written provisions governing whether a licentiate
shall have the option of being represented by an attorney at the
licentiate’s expense. No peer review body shall not be represented
by an attorney if the licentiate is not so represented, except dental
professional notifies the peer review body in writing no later than
15 days prior to the hearing that he or she has elected to not be
represented by an attorney. Except as otherwise agreed by the
parties, this election shall be binding.
(2) If the licentiate does not provide the written notice described
in paragraph (1) within the required timeframe, the peer review
body may be represented by an attorney even if the licentiate later
elects to not be represented by an attorney.
Clearly, at present the law allows for representation by an attorney and this change is more of a notification change - it is procedural.
Typical CMA's staff really has no idea of what is in the bill !
I have seen this before. Dr. Rogan no doubt it appears followed the way the
Executive committee went - he accepted the staff's statement on face value and staff did not know what the heck they were looking at.
I have seen it all before, such as in the Gallegos bill a few years back - I stopped it before it went to the Executive committee, so it died.
Had it gone to Executive Committee and approved it would have been another 1235.
Another one is the Medical provisions requiring you to pay back money received from a patients accident award and accept MediCal fees.
I remember that one too- I caught it after it pased.
The attorneys said it did not exist and when I read it to them they said: " Oh I guess we missed that one !!! "
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
In view of all the above, you MUST VETO AB 1235, as it is still a "work in progress",
Respectfully submitted,