We Oppose SB276: Immunizations: Medical Exemptions

What is SB276?

Introduced by Senator Richard Pan, SB 276 is new legislation presented as such to eliminate “unscrupulous doctors” and the threat they pose to the overall herd immunity by signing fraudulent medical exemptions. Under the accusation that all medical exemptions are fraudulent, SB276 aims for bad acting doctors but in it’s crossfire are the 0.9% of children and families whose medical exemptions would be revoked and denied access to public school. Under the language of SB276, medical exemptions will only be validated if listed on the CDC Guidelines of Contraindications, restricted to only include anaphylaxis or near-death. Children who experience seizures, encephalitis, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal damage, and autoimmune disorders will not be protected by our state from further medical damage.

Medical Board Complaints

60 Complaints. Majority Dismissed. No Violations Found.

To date, the California Medical Board has received 60 complaints regarding medical exemptions since the implementation of SB277. A majority of cases have been closed because of no violations being found, insufficient evidence to pursue disciplinary action or the inability to proceed because of a lack of supporting evidence. 

(K. Kirchmeyer, personal)

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/5/e20181051d

What is the real purpose of SB276?

If the real purpose of SB276 is to close the loophole of Bad Acting Doctors who write fraudulent Medical Exemptions, why does SB276 target and punish those who legally complied with SB277 in 2015 in obtaining a legal medical exemption for their child to attend school? Does a bill costing roughly $400 million dollars warrant the fiscal impact and government overreach for a system that is already in place? If SB276 passes, does this mean the practice of medicine will now be an arm of the government?

During the Assembly Health Committee, Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, a co-author of SB277 that took away religious and personal belief exemptions, raised several concerns about SB276.

Medical Exemptions are Near impossible to get

In 2015, SB277 promised doctors safeguarding for writing medical exemptions. Even still, few doctors will write medical exemptions even for cases they feel are medically necessary due to fear of being unjustly punished by the medical board. In California, there are a limited number of doctors who specialize in recognizing qualifying criteria for medical exemptions and are educated on adverse reactions and disease onset. This leaves receiving a medical exemption for qualifying criteria extremely difficult and rare. In fact, less than 1% of Californians hold a medical exemption.

Discrimination

Under current law, The California Medical Board has the authority to review any medical exemptions individually they feel are problematic.

The demographic holding medical exemptions are primarily children and adults who have genetic susceptibilities, have had adverse reactions, a near death contraindication, or are at risk of health complications by receiving immunizations. Some of these experiences include temporary and life long paralysis, seizures, nerve damage, brain damage, disease onset such as guillian barre sydnrome, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disorders, severe allergies and skin reactions, gastrointestinal damage, and more, all of which would no longer qualify them for a medial exemption.

SB276 specifically discriminates against at risk communities such as the medically fragile, those of lower socioeconomic status, and those who need services from the state. Those who cannot afford multiple doctor visits by taking time off of work or having their child miss school to obtain the proper information and to further prove the need for a medical exemption will be hard pressed to comply forcing them to put their children at risk.

Fraudulent Medical Exemptions?

A 2018 Research Paper that reviewed medical exemptions in California after SB277 showed that the majority of the 60 medical board complaint cases that investigated medical exemptions were closed because of no violations found, insufficient evidence to pursue disciplinary action, or lack of supporting evidence.

The Mahonty Research Paper, conducted from 34 interviews with health officers across the state, reported that most participants found few or no medical exemptions that they believed were problematic. Exemptions labeled as "suspicious" were because doctor-provided reasoning did not fit the extremely narrow list of CDC contraindications. However, according to state law, "family medical history for which the physician does not recommend immunization" IS a legally valid reason for writing a medical exemption.

We Vaccinated. SB276 Hurts Good Kids, Not Bad Doctors