- Edgar Guerra
- Communications Director
- 916-319-2011
- Edgar.Guerra@asm.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson introduced a new bill, Assembly Bill 577, aimed at protecting the rights of patients with serious illnesses such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. This legislation seeks to ensure that these patients can receive critical infusions and prescription drugs directly from their own doctors if deemed necessary for their best interest.
“I am thrilled to introduce my bill, AB 577, to safeguard patients from the unnecessary burden of traveling to distant infusion centers or other facilities,” said Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson. “It is vital that physicians have the ability to manage and administer treatments within their own offices, especially for those who are medically frail or have a history of allergic reactions.”
“We are grateful to Assemblywoman Wilson for her leadership in introducing this bill, which will help protect oncology care in California from unnecessary meddling from PBMs and insurance corporations into chemotherapy and other cancer care treatments,” said co-sponsors of the bill Dr. Millie Das, President of the Association of Northern California Oncologists and Dr. Ashkan Lashkari, President of the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California. “Protecting the doctor-patient relationship in oncology is crucial to saving lives."
“Treatment decisions should remain between a patient and their healthcare provider and should not be impacted by insurance and PBM profit focused schemes,” said Samy Metyas, President of the California Rheumatology Alliance which cosponsors the legislation.
Increasingly, Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers (PBMs) and health insurance companies have implemented policies that restrict where patients can receive their treatments. These policies often require patients to obtain chemotherapy and other physician-administered drugs at designated infusion centers, rather than at their own doctor’s office. Furthermore, these entities sometimes mandate that doctors source these medications from specialty pharmacies owned by the health plan or PBM. This can prevent doctors from making crucial same-day adjustments to treatments based on a patient's immediate lab results, potentially compromising patient safety and treatment effectiveness.
AB 577 proposes to prohibit health plans, PBMs, and insurers from enforcing such restrictive policies when a patient’s physician determines it is in the patient’s best interest to receive their treatments directly from their own doctor.
The bill has garnered support and co-sponsorship from several key medical associations, including the Association of Northern California Oncologists, the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, and the California Rheumatology Alliance. AB 577 is scheduled for a hearing in the spring.
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Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson was elected in April 2022 to represent California’s 11th Assembly District which includes all of Solano County and portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties. The District includes the Cities of: Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Oakley, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville and Vallejo.