Advocacy
AAP CA Advocacy Priorities
AAP California Chapters 1, 3 and 4 advocate together on state-level issues related to children's health and well-being and the practice of pediatrics. Our work is strictly nonpartisan, and addresses the many CA bills and budget items related to child health access and reimbursement, vaccines, mental and behavioral health, prevention of childhood injury and trauma, youth vaping, and childhood obesity, the importance of achieving racial and ethnic child health parity, and advocacy for COVID19 policies that support the public health and the viability of pediatric practices.
2020 Hot Spot Advocacy Areas:
Access To Care
Every child deserves comprehensive, quality, pediatric health care & every pediatrician deserves to be fully supported in delivering that care! Special attention is given to the importance of achieving racial and ethnic parity in child health access, and addressing the access needs of vulnerable populations such as children with special health care needs, foster children, children of immigrant families, children who are homeless, children impacted by the criminal justice system, and LGBTQ youth.
COVID-19
Advocacy related to COVID19 includes policies & funds to ensure pediatric practice viability, a "Back to Office" campaign to educate policymakers & families about the need for timely well child visits & vaccines, telehealth payment parity, fully adequate PPE supplies & physician wellness support, safe school reopening guidance, and support for children’s hospitals.
Vaccines
AAP CA Chapters successfully sponsored recent laws by CA Senator Richard Pan MD FAAP to limit school & child care entry vaccine exemptions to valid medical exemptions only. Advocacy is ongoing for funding for public health programs for vaccine outreach, education & data.
Mental & Behavioral Health
The needs here are great. Our policymakers must hear the collective voice of pediatricians on behalf of children to make mental & behavioral health & addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) a top priority. Prevention, screening, diagnosis, referrals & treatment!
Sponsored Bills, Session 2019-2020
Below are AAP CA Sponsored Bills. Click on the letter icon to view the AAP CA’s letter for each bill. To view all bills, click the button Bill List below.| Name | Description | Author | Status | Position | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB-138 | California Community Health Fund | Bloom | Dead | Support | |
| AB-764 | Soda: Ban on marketing/promotions | Bonta | Dead | Support | |
| AB-765 | Sugar Sweetened Beverages: Healthy Checkout | Wicks | Dead | Support | |
| SB-86 | Department of Pesticide Regulation: chlorpyrifos: quarterly reports. | Durazo | Chaptered | Support | |
| SB-276 | Immunizations: Medical Exemptions | Pan | Chaptered | Support | |
| SB-347 | Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Warnings | Monning | Dead | Support |
Featured Court Case and Ballot Measure
AAP California Supports DACA Recipients In Brief To U.S. Supreme Court (Nov 2019)
For over 72,000 children of DACA recipients living in California, the threat of the loss of their parents creates significant and ongoing traumatic stress with long-term negative consequences for their health and well-being. 5,000 California Pediatricians across our state stand with our patients, DACA recipients and their children, in demanding that the government protect the DACA program and keep these families together.
To that end, AAP California joined nearly three dozen organizations & leaders in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to consider the impact of rescinding DACA on beneficiaries’ children, who are U.S. citizens. (November 2019)
