On June 20, the California Secretary of State announced an initiative to enact staffing requirements, reporting requirements, ownership disclosure, and closing requirements at dialysis clinics had qualified for the November ballot. Californians for Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection, the campaign behind the initiative, submitted over 1 million signatures. The random sample concluded that 725,890 signatures were valid, surpassing the 623,212 signature threshold for initiated state statutes.
The proposed requirements include:
- requiring clinics to have at least one physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant—with at least six months of experience with end-stage renal disease care—onsite during patient treatments;
- requiring clinics to report dialysis-related infections to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH);
- requiring clinics to provide patients with a list of physicians with an ownership interest of 5 percent or more in the clinic;
- requiring clinics to provide the CDPH with a list of persons with an ownership interest of 5 percent or more in the clinic; and
- requiring clinics to obtain the CDPH’s written consent before closing or substantially reducing services to patients.
