Health care costs: patient notification.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals and surgical clinics. The Medical Board of California licenses and regulates physicians and surgeons, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California licenses and regulates osteopathic physicians and surgeons. This bill would require, when a medical procedure is scheduled to be performed on a patient, the general acute care hospital, surgical clinic, and the attending physician, as applicable, to notify the patient, in writing, of the net costs to the patient for the medical procedure being done, as provided. For complex medical procedures or screenings involving multiple physicians, the general acute care hospital, surgical clinic, and attending physician, as applicable, would be required to disclose, in writing, if any of the physicians providing medical services to the patient are not contracted with the patient's health care service plan or health insurer and the costs for which the patient would be responsible as a result. The bill would provide that a violation of these provisions by a physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon would constitute unprofessional conduct, as provided.