Proposition 29 - Requires On-Site Licensed Medical Professional at Kidney Dialysis Clinics and Establishes Other State Requirements. Initiative Statute.

Summary

Requires physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant on during treatment. Requires clinics to: disclose physicians' ownership interests; report infection data. Fiscal Impact: Increased state and local government costs likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually.

A "yes" vote on this measure means chronic dialysis clinics would be required to have a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant on-site during all patient treatment hours.

A "no" vote on this measure means chronic dialysis clinics would not be required to have a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant on-site during all patient treatment hours.

Arguments

"Just like in 2020, an independent review by California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office found that this measure would ''increase each clinic''s costs by several hundred thousand dollars annually on average.'' This could force clinics to close, putting patient health at risk." - San Francisco Chonicle Editorial Board, in opposition to Proposition 29 (Learn more)

"The measure has a number of needless provisions, such as requiring infections to be reported to the state, though these data are being reported to the federal government now, and prohibiting dialysis centers from discriminating due to payer source, which even the proponents say is not a problem now." - Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, in opposition to Proposition 29 (Learn more)

"When serious problems happen, most dialysis clinics just call 911. But the ambulance might not arrive in time to get us to a hospital. We need a doctor on-site who can handle life-or-death situations in an emergency." - Carmen Cartagena, dialysis patient, in support of Proposition 29 (Learn more)

Measure Details