Press Releases

Telehealth Bill Introduced to Improve Health Care Access

CALIFORNIA  – On the first day of the California Legislative session in the new year, health care providers and advocacy groups join Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry in uplifting the significance of Assembly Bill (AB) 32. Introduced in December to highlight the pressing need to strengthen telehealth access during this legislative session, AB 32 seeks to make current telehealth flexibilities permanent under state law. Telehealth modalities, like phone and video calls, and remote enrollment in state health programs have been critical in providing health care during COVID-19, but are currently contingent upon federal and state public health emergency declarations.

“The expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the few silver linings of this challenging time. It has transformed healthcare during our nation’s worst health crisis in a century, allowing patients to maintain timely access to care while also mitigating COVID-19 exposure,” said Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry. “Access to healthcare should not require a state of emergency, nor depend upon a person’s location, mobility, or income. It’s time for the State of California to recognize that access to health care is always important, and to make telehealth part of our health world whether or not we face a crisis.”

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry Introduces Internet for All Act of 2021, Announces Partnership with Senator Lena Gonzalez to Deliver 21st Century Connectivity to All Californians

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 14, known as the ‘Internet for All Act of 2021’. The Assemblymember has also reached agreement to work in partnership with Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) to revolutionize the State’s broadband deployment program under the California Advanced Services Program, and provide new and increased funding to bring California into the technological 21st Century.

The two Members, who individually advanced legislation elevating the discussion of the sorry state of internet connectivity in the State, have joined forces to bring forward the funding and reforms necessary to truly achieve Internet for All.  The bills will build on the extension of the CASF program under AB 1665, signed into law in 2017 (joint authored by Assemblymembers Garcia, Aguiar-Curry, Holden, McCarty, Bonta, Gallagher, Low, Santiago, Wood, and then-Assemblymember, now Senator Brian Dahle).

Assemblymembers Aguiar-Curry and Limón Introduce Legislative Package to Tackle Alzheimer’s Crisis

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Monique Limón (D- Santa Barbara) introduced Assembly Bill 2047 and Assembly Bill 2048, flanked on the floor of the State Assembly by advocates from the Alzheimer’s Association. These two companion bills would promote greater awareness and earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The bills provide seniors, providers, and caregivers with the tools they need to recognize and plan for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and lay the groundwork for treatment strategies later in the life of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing public health crisis. It is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, which results in memory loss, impaired cognitive function, and ultimately death. The over-65 population in California is projected to grow to 8.6 million by 2030, and though Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of growing old, aging is the greatest known risk factor for developing the disease. According to the California Department of Public Health, deaths in California due to Alzheimer’s disease increased 243% from 2000 to 2015, and in 2015 Alzheimer’s was the third leading cause of death.

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry Pushes Bill to Expand Cancer Prevention and Add HPV Treatment to State Family Planning Program

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced Assembly Bill 1965, to require that the State Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Program cover the costs of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The California Family PACT Program provides comprehensive family planning services to approximately 1.1 million low-income residents through a network of over 2,200 public and private providers. Services provided include comprehensive education, assistance, and health services related to family planning for both men and women.

Legislative Select Committees on Wine to Meet in Lodi

SACRAMENTO, CA – Chairs of the California Assembly and Senate Select Committees on Wine will hold a joint informational hearing Oct. 31 in Lodi, California

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa), and Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), chairs the respective select committees, will lead two panel discussions. The first topic of discussion will provide an overview of Central Valley grape production. The second panel will talk about wine fermentation emissions and related air quality rules under consideration. Panelists will include local business, tourism, and wine industry representatives. 

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry’s Bill to Expand Access to Telehealth Care Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

SACRAMENTO, CA – In his last day to act on legislation from the 2019 Session, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 744 by Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). AB 744 is landmark legislation that requires true telehealth parity in coverage and reimbursement in California. This means that health plans must provide reimbursement to healthcare providers for performing covered services, regardless of whether the care is provided in-person or through telehealth.

“California, the technology leader in our nation and the world, should also lead on access to health services.  Telehealth overcomes barriers to healthcare access by using technology to connect patients to their doctors, no matter where they live, what the demands of their jobs are, or what mobility challenges they may have,” said Aguiar-Curry. “By taking advantage of technological innovations in the healthcare industry, we can use our doctors’ time and expertise more efficiently while expanding access to all types of care for Californians.”

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry’s Bill to Increase Access to Pharmacy Care Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

SACRAMENTO, CA – Last night Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 690, authored by Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). Assembly Bill 690 will increase access to pharmacy care in vulnerable and rural areas of California, by authorizing the use of telepharmacy in medically underserved areas and streamlining the process for pharmacies to reopen after a natural disaster.

Governor Signs Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s Legislation to Preserve Small Family Farms, Agricultural Open Space

SACRAMENTO, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 872 by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) into law late last night. AB 872 addresses an inequity in California’s complicated property tax reassessment laws to help save small family farms.

AB 872 expands the existing change-in-ownership exclusion in property tax law, which allows property to be passed down from a parent to a child without being reassessed to a higher property tax value. This new protection will ensure that if a small, family-owned farm was incorporated prior to Prop 58, it will receive the same family heritage protections that proposition intended.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry Responds to the Senate Appropriations Committee Holding AB 228 on Suspense

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) made the following statement today, in response to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s action to hold AB 228 on Suspense. AB 228 would have established a framework for the legal production and sale of hemp-based CBD products in California.

“I have worked diligently with the hemp and cannabis industries and with the Newsom Administration this year to establish a legal and regulatory framework that would allow hemp-derived CBD to be produced and sold in California. Consumers are excited about the opportunity to purchase CBD products made from hemp that will not also result in a “high” associated with the THC found in marijuana products.