Representing the 9th District

SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly today passed legislation authored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and sponsored by the Sacramento Natural Foods Cooperative that will increase sustainable investment choices for Californians.

“Food co-ops are local organizations committed to healthy living through the promotion of sustainable food options and purchasing from local farmers,” said Dr. Pan. “I am proud to be working with the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op to help cooperatives generate the investment they need to continue to grow, innovate and build healthier communities.”

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AB 1X2 to Ensure Californians Gain Protections under Federal Affordable Care Act

SACRAMENTO – Governor Jerry Brown today signed historic legislation authored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) to implement federal health care reforms in California.  AB 1X2 ensures that Californians who are struggling with an illness, sometimes called a pre-existing condition, will be able to purchase health insurance coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

“I applaud the governor for signing this important legislation ending discrimination against Californians who have struggled with an illness,” Dr. Pan said. “Thank you to all the stakeholders who came together to ensure our state has strong protections that will allow people to keep the coverage they have or obtain coverage even when they come down with a serious illness.  I am confident that our continued work together, including fully expanding Medi-Cal, can help us build a healthier California for future generations.”

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Rally at State Capitol Follows Committee Passage of Bill to Provide Oversight of Outsourcing State Work

SACRAMENTO – State employees joined Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) at the State Capitol on Wednesday to support legislation that would provide oversight whenever a state agency hires private contractors.  After hearing testimony from many state employees, the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security passed the bill, AB 906.

“The state spends billions on private contracts but it has no mechanism to determine the effectiveness of spending all of this money on outside vendors,” Dr. Pan said. “This bill is designed to prod the state to operate more efficiently and ensure that taxpayer money is well spent.”

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(Sacramento) - California families with English-learning loved-ones are supporting AB 1263, legislation authored by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) that would increase trained Medical Interpreters needed to prevent grief and confusion caused when health, cultural and other information is not interpreted properly in medical situations. After hearing testimony from families describing confusion surrounding death and life-threatening surgeries, AB 1263 was passed by the Assembly Health Committee chaired by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento). "As a physician who cares for children and their families from a diversity of cultural and language backgrounds, I know how important having qualified medical interpreters is to the quality of care I am able to provide my patients," Dr. Pan said. Here's more from Dr. Pan in this Assembly Access video.

Testimony from Students and Dr. Richard Pan as Committees Pass His Bills to Stop Fee Increases and High Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs

SACRAMENTO – CSU and UC students joined Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) at two State Capitol hearings today to testify in support of legislation Dr. Pan is carrying that will protect students against fee increases and high out-of-pocket health care costs.

“These bills empower students to ensure that the institutions governing their education and health care are working for them,” Dr. Pan said.  “I am pleased to be joined by strong student leaders, whose testimony today shows not only the challenges our young people are facing, but their ability to take control of their futures.”

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Sacramento - The California State Assembly has passed legislation authored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) to ensure Californians who are struggling with an illness, sometimes called a pre-existing condition, will be able to purchase insurance coverage at reasonable rates, beginning January 1, 2014. “Today the Assembly has moved our state one step closer to making sure that people who become sick or injured are not denied health insurance,” said Dr. Pan, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Health. Assembly Bill 1x2 implements the federal Affordable Care Act goal of providing every American with quality, affordable health care by ending the denial of coverage for any reason, including any pre-existing conditions. Here’s more from Dr. Pan in this Assembly Access video.

Sacramento - Doctor Richard Pan, the Sacramento physician who represents the 9th Assembly District, joined 52 of his fellow lawmakers in approving Assembly Bill 1x1, the Medi-Cal expansion bill authored by Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles). Speaking as both a legislator and as a physician who takes care of Medi-Cal patients, Dr. Pan said “What a difference it makes to have patients who have coverage,” adding that, “If we exclude them from the system by being uninsured, we do not have the opportunity to better manage their illness.” AB1x1 would expand the Medi-Cal system to cover an estimated one million childless, adult Californians who make less than $15,400 a year. The entire cost of the expansion will be covered by the federal government for three years and 90% of the cost will be covered by the federal government in the years after that. Here’s more from Dr. Pan in this Assembly Access video.

AB 1X 2, Guaranteeing Health Coverage for Californians, Goes to Senate

SACRAMENTO – The California State Assembly today passed legislation authored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) to ensure Californians who are struggling with an illness, sometimes called a pre-existing condition, will be able to purchase insurance coverage at reasonable rates, beginning January 1, 2014.

“Today the Assembly has moved our state one step closer to making sure that people who become sick or injured are not denied health insurance,” said Dr. Pan, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Health. “I look forward to our continuing work with all stakeholders on the historic effort to make California a leader among states in the implementation of health care reforms.”

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Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi, Ken Cooley and Dr. Richard Pan Join Veterans and Citizens Interned and Wrongfully Fired

SACRAMENTO – Japanese Americans including World War II veterans and citizens interned and wrongfully fired from state employment gathered at the State Capitol today for National Day of Remembrance.  On the floor of the Assembly Chambers, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) recognized these Japanese Americans and led a vote on his resolution recognizing Day of Remembrance in California.

“We must never forget this important day in California’s history: the day we let fear and war hysteria trump our most sacred civil liberties,” Assemblymember Muratsuchi said. “Today we remember the commitment we make to freedom by ensuring this unfortunate injustice never happens again.”

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University of California Student Association and Dr. Richard Pan Announce Legislation Removing Caps on Coverage in UC Health Plan

SACRAMENTO – University of California (UC) students joined Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, at the State Capitol today to urge UC to eliminate caps on coverage for students in the UC student health plan and announce AB 314 to do the same.  Kenya Wheeler, a UC Berkeley graduate student who was diagnosed with Lymphoma in his brain and faced bankruptcy due to his illness, discussed why over 100,000 California college students should not risk financial ruin because of caps in their student health plan.

“When I received my diagnosis, I couldn’t believe that all the work we had put into achieving historic health care reforms had left me and other sick UC students without protections against a lifetime of debt,” Wheeler said.  “We are pleased to work with Dr. Pan in this effort to give students who have the UC Student Health Plan the protections we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

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