Assembly Bill 1751 (Mike Gipson) sponsored by the California Chiropractic Association, is being presented as an effort to decrease opioid prescription rates. However, it unnecessarily alters current requirements around opioid prescriptions to increase referrals to non-pharmacological treatments for pain, such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, and mental health treatment.
Existing law requires specific prescription requirements for minors, which this bill would extend to all patients, requiring physicians to share information on non-pharmacological options, offer referrals, and confirm with the patient's signature that this was done. This would create an unnecessary administrative burden and undermine the judgment and expertise of physicians. Additionally, there would be no exemption to this burden for chronic pain prescriptions, only hospice patients.
AB 1751 is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Health Committee on April 11th. Members of this committee must hear from physicians in their districts NOW on the issues this bill poses for the delivery of healthcare in California.
Not only does this bill overrule physician judgments, but it also establishes referral requirements without proposed coverage expansions. Medi-Cal is not required to cover all non-pharmacological treatments, meaning much of the patient population in California will not have the ability to utilize the mandated referral.
I urge you to take action by clicking here https://www.cmadocs.org/NoAB1751 to send a letter to your legislator asking them to oppose AB 1751. Let's work together to ensure that patients receive the care they need and that physicians can continue to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients.