AB 68 ensures access to epilepsy treatment

AD-75 (R)

Throughout history, epilepsy was known as a mysterious and untreatable medical condition. Fortunately, modern drugs can effectively manage the disease so that people who suffer from epilepsy often lead relatively symptom-free lives.

Failure to adequately treat epilepsy can lead to serious complications, injuries, hospitalization, and excessive medical costs, often financed with taxpayer dollars. Maintaining seizure control requires careful evaluation and monitoring by patients and physicians, as well as the administration of anti-epilepsy drugs tailored to each patient’s needs.

As more people move onto Medi-Cal managed care plans, we are essentially growing a two-tier system of healthcare. Patients who can afford private insurance plans have doctors with the time and resources that allow them to obtain a higher tier of drugs for their patients. Patients on Medi-Cal often don't have the same opportunities.

That’s why I introduced Assembly Bill 68 (AB 68). The bill strengthens the doctor/patient relationship by legislating a 48 hour expedited appeals process if the prescribed epilepsy drug was originally denied under the Medi-Cal program.

AB 68 has now passed the Assembly Health Committee and hearings in the Appropriations Committee are pending. To register support for AB 68, fax your comments to Appropriations Committee Chair Jimmy Gomez at (916) 319-2151 and Vice Chair Frank Bigelow at (916) 319-2105. You may also fax your comments to my office at (760) 480-7516.

Once enacted, AB 68 will result in better medical treatment for epilepsy patients in California and, in the long run, lower Medi-Cal costs for the state’s hard-pressed taxpayers.