Bill > SB351

This bill introduces new regulations to prevent private equity groups and hedge funds from interfering with professional medical and dental practice decision-making. The bill defines hedge funds as investment pools managed for financial returns and private equity groups as investors who raise and invest capital. It prohibits these entities from interfering with healthcare professionals' clinical judgments, such as determining diagnostic tests, patient care options, referrals, patient load, and work hours. The bill also restricts their ability to control medical practices by preventing them from managing medical records, hiring/firing staff based on clinical competence, setting contractual parameters with third-party payers, making billing decisions, or approving medical equipment selections. Additionally, the bill renders void any contracts that prevent healthcare providers from competing, commenting on care quality, or discussing ethical challenges after leaving a practice. The Attorney General is empowered to seek injunctive relief and recover legal costs for enforcing these provisions, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that clinical decisions remain exclusively in the hands of licensed healthcare providers. The legislation applies to medical and dental practices regardless of their corporate structure and does not alter existing laws regarding the corporate practice of medicine or dentistry.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB351