SACRAMENTO, May 14, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- California is completing new
regulations aimed at ensuring patients get to see doctors in a reasonable time
after making the first call, officials say.
The state would set time limits based on doctors' specialties and the
seriousness of patients' conditions, the Sacramento Bee reported. California
would be the first state in the country to adopt timely access regulations for
health maintenance organizations and similar care providers.
One survey found that the average wait across the country to see a doctor is 20
days.
The regulations have been a long time in gestation. The state Legislature
adopted a timely access law for HMOs in 2002, requiring regulations to be in
place by 2004.
If everything keeps on track, the rules are now expected to take effect by the
end of 2009. Some medical groups argue that HMOs need a year to prepare to
implement the change.
"We should no longer be debating the wisdom of timely access," said Anthony
Wright, executive director of Health Access California, which lobbied for the
original law.
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