Medical Board Bill Up in CA Assembly Tuesday Would Hide Doctor Drug Abuse Placing Patients At Risk; Harmed Californian Speaks Out, says Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Legislation to be heard in the Assembly Business & Professions Committee tomorrow, April 22nd, would place patients at risk of harm at the hands of doctors abusing drugs or alcohol. 

AB 408 (Berman) would recreate the Medical Board's failed diversion program that allowed doctors under investigation by the Board because of substance abuse to evade discipline by entering the program. The original program was shut down by the Board itself after failing five state audits and two reports by a Legislatively-appointed Enforcement Monitor. 

Consumer Watchdog will testify in opposition to the bill in Sacramento on Tuesday. 

"AB 408 would dismantle the most basic patient protection that the Board has: investigating doctors caught using drugs or alcohol on the job. Consumer Watchdog must urge the committee to Vote NO on AB 408," wrote Consumer Watchdog in a letter to the committee. "It is imperative that the legislature and the Medical Board prioritize accountability and public safety over support for those who have failed to uphold the sanctity of patient care." 

Read Consumer Watchdog's letter of opposition to AB 408.

The bill eliminates current law requiring a report to Medical Board enforcement staff and consequences if a doctor referred to a diversion program fails a drug test or other program requirements.

Tina Minasian, an advocate for patient rights in California, knows all too well the dire consequences of inadequate consumer protections. Tina suffers lifelong injuries inflicted by a substance-abusing surgeon who was a participant in the former confidential physician diversion program. Tina, along with other harmed patients, played a pivotal role in advocating for the closure of the prior failed Diversion Program. 

"I can't believe that eighteen years later I have to take on this fight again on behalf of all Californians," stated Minasian. "We gained too many protections in the past fifteen years to give them up. I lost everything when I was harmed and cannot allow another Californian to endure what I did."  

The History of the Medical Board and Physician Diversion

The former confidential physician diversion program was subjected to a critical sunset review in 2007 after five failed audits by the state and a critical report from an Enforcement Monitor revealed significant failures in drug testing and oversight. In response, patients bravely stepped forward to share their harrowing stories of harm and loss due to the negligence of substance-abusing physicians. The Medical Board of California recognized the severity of these revelations and terminated the program in 2008. That same year, a pivotal hearing on the diversion program was convened at the state Capitol. Following, the chair of the joint committee announced the authorship of SB 1441, legislation designed to establish Uniform Standards for Substance-Abusing Health Care Professionals in California. Passed into law in 2008, SB 1441 was a vital step toward rectifying the failures of the previous diversion program. It empowered the Medical Board with essential tools to monitor substance-abusing licensees and enforce meaningful consequences for offending physicians, prioritizing the protection of patients and fostering a culture of accountability among healthcare providers. In 2016, SB 1177 was enacted, which allowed the Medical Board of California to recreate a new physician diversion program that adhered to the Uniform Standards. 

AB 408 discards those consumer protections and reconfigures any future program in the image of the failed diversion program.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog