BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 27
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 19, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 27 (Medina) - As Amended: March 13, 2013
SUBJECT : University of California: UC Riverside Medical
School: funding.
SUMMARY : Appropriates $15 million annually from the General
Fund (GF) to the Regents of the University of California for
allocation to the School of Medicine at the University of
California, Riverside (UCR).
FISCAL EFFECT : Annual appropriation of $15 million (GF).
COMMENTS : Background . The foundation of the School of
Medicine at UCR dates to 1974, when the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider
Program in Biomedical Sciences was established. This program
has enabled approximately 700 students to complete their first
two years of medical school at UCR and their last two years at
the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, which confers their
medical degrees.
Timeline of events . In May 2006, UCR proposed to establish an
independent four-year School of Medicine that would serve the
medically underserved in the Inland Empire. In July 2008, the
UC Board of Regents officially approved establishment of a
School of Medicine at UCR, which paved the road for the state's
first new public medical school in more than four decades. In
the summer of 2011, UCR failed to gain accreditation for an
independent four-year medical school from the Liaison Committee
on Medical Education (LCME), the national accrediting body for
educational programs leading to the Medical Doctor degree in the
United States and Canadian medical schools. LCME withheld
preliminary accreditation due to a lack of recurring state
funding support for the school.
In April 2012, after securing substantial new funding from a
variety of non-state funding sources, UCR submitted a second
accreditation application. In June 2012, a second accreditation
site visit took place and in October 2012, UCR received
notification that its planned medical school received
"preliminary accreditation." Preliminary accreditation from
LCME enables prospective students to begin applying to the UCR
AB 27
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School of Medicine in order to potentially enroll in the
inaugural class in August 2013.
Purpose of this bill . According to the author "Studies show
that the highest indicator of where a physician practices is
where he or she attends medical school. The region [Inland
Empire] trails behind much of the state in several key health
indicators, including coronary heart disease and diabetes." The
establishment of a medical school in the Inland Empire will help
to ensure more physicians are trained and remain in the Inland
Empire. The author contends that one of the areas that will aid
in the UCR School of Medicine receiving final accreditation from
LCME and meeting the medical needs of the Inland Empire is for
the School to receive a steady funding source; this bill seeks
to fulfill that need.
Need for the bill . According the Public Policy Institute of
California, the Inland Empire is the fastest-growing region of
the state. The Inland Empire of Riverside and San Bernardino
Counties has a population larger than the state of Oregon. With
the expectation of the Affordable Care Act to be fully
implemented in 2014, it is estimated that more than 300,000
residents of the Inland Empire will have health insurance
coverage extended to them. However, the coverage does not
necessarily translate into care.
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in
2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed;
that number will more than double by 2025 as the expansion of
insurance coverage and the aging of the baby boomers drive up
the demand for care. In the Inland Empire, the shortage of
doctors is already severe. The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' Council on Graduate Medical Education recommends
that a given region have 60 to 80 primary care physicians per
100,000 residents and 85 to 105 specialists. The Inland Empire
has about 40 primary care doctors and 70 specialists per 100,000
residents - the worst shortage in California, in both cases.
The UCR School of Medicine plans to enroll its first students in
August 2013, and is planning a number of policies to encourage
its graduates to remain in the Inland Empire and practice
primary care medicine.
Urgency clause . The author intends to request the committee to
adopt an urgency clause.
AB 27
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Related legislation . SB 21 (Roth), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, is identical to this bill.
Several budget bills in the last few years initially contained
funding for the UCR School of Medicine but failed to secure
passage. Most recently, AB 1309 (Miller, 2012) would have
appropriated $15 million of an expected settlement to the UC for
the UCR School of Medicine. This measure was held on the
Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Department of Insurance
California Medical Association
City of Riverside
Enterprise Media
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth M. Young
Southwest California Legislative Council
University of California at Riverside
UCR Alumni Association
UCR Board of Trustees
Two Individuals
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960