Office Access in California

California rules limit HMO wait times.
The AP (1/20) reports that California is "poised to become the first state to set time limits for doctors to see patients" under regulations released by the state's Department of Managed Health Care. The rules will "require family practitioners in HMOs to see patients seeking an appointment within 10 business days." The deadline "for specialists is 15 days," and patients seeking "urgent care that does not require prior authorization" must be seen "within 48 hours." The NPR (1/20, Costello) "Planet Money" blog reports that "telephone calls to doctors' offices will have to be returned within 30 minutes, and physicians or other health professionals will have to be available 24 hours a day." The USA Today (1/20, Winter) "On Deadline" blog reports similar details.
The Los Angeles Times (1/20) reports that the new rules also stipulate that mental healthcare patients "must be treated within 10 business days." Additionally, "X-rays, lab tests, acupuncture and other ancillary services must be provided within 15" business days, and "urgent dental care must be provided within 72 hours," while "non-urgent dental services within 36" business days.
The new rules, reports the New York Times (1/20, A14, Archibold), are "meant as a big step toward speeding care for the state's 21-million HMO members, who often endure long waits for basic service."
On its website, KTLA-TV Los Angeles (1/20) reports that the regulations "have been in the works for much of the last decade. ... A 2002 state law mandated timely access to medical care, and the specifics were worked out in years of negotiations with doctors, hospitals, HMOs and consumer groups." Supporters say the new rules "will give patients better access to medical care, and will cut down unnecessary use of the emergency" department.
According to the Santa Rosa (CA) Press-Democrat (1/20, Espinoza), HMOs have "until Sept. 1 to come up with a plan for complying with the new rules. After that, they have until Jan. 17, 2011 to fully implement the new deadlines."