(SACRAMENTO, CA)  Over the weekend, the Governor vetoed priority health and human services legislation authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.  AB 1429 would have required health plans and insurers to cover the cost of vaccinating young women against the virus causing cervical cancer.  AB 1192 would have established a registry of care providers to the developmentally disabled with abusive histories and made the information available to the groups hiring caregivers.

“The Governor declares this the year of health care reform and he vetoes a common sense approach to confront the second most common form of cancer among women,” said Evans.  “The Governor spent nearly a week in China boasting his credentials as an advocate for the developmentally disabled and he vetoes a bill to help protect them from abuse.  I don’t get it.”

Copies of the Governor’s veto messages are available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

AB 1429 (HPV Vaccination Coverage Mandate)

Under current state law, health plans and insurers that include coverage for the treatment or surgery of cervical cancer must also provide coverage for an annual cervical cancer screening test.  AB 1429 would have expanded that coverage to include vaccination for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.

This year, in California, almost 1,600 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 400 will die from it.  California has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the country.  Administration of the HPV vaccine occurs in three doses over six months and costs about $360.  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the vaccine for young women between the ages of 11-26.

“Without this bill, the law only requires coverage for girls sixteen years or younger in group plans or insurance policies,” said Evans.  “That fails to protect millions of California’s women within the full age range recommended for receiving the vaccine.”

AB 1429 faced no opposition.  It passed the Assembly 52-23 and the Senate 26-13.

AB 1192 (Abusive Caregiver Registry)

AB 1192 would have directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a registry of care providers with abusive histories and make the information available to the groups hiring caregivers. The bill would have also required that the employers of caregivers report instances of abuse to the department.

“This bill would have helped prevent abusive caregivers from moving around the state to continue their violence and abuse,” said Evans.  “We need to stop the cycle of violence.”

Forty-four percent of abusers make contact with their victims as unlicensed, direct care workers.  If caught, investigated, and/or fired, many abusers move on to another agency because they can.  Without knowledge of a caregiver’s past, employers continue to hire abusive caregivers.

Individuals with developmental disabilities are 11 times more likely of being sexually assaulted and 13 times more likely of being robbed than people without disabilities.  One study by the University of California, Irvine found that there are five million crimes against the developmentally disabled each year.

AB 1192 faced no opposition.  It passed the Assembly 76-0 and the Senate 36-0.