Amended in Assembly April 8, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 860

Introduced by Assembly Members Perea and Bocanegra

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta)

(Coauthor: Senator Rubio)

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Section 1341.45 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health professions.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 860, as amended, Perea. Medical school scholarships.

Existing law provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and imposes certain requirements on health care service plans. Existing law imposes various fines and administrative penalties for certain violations of these provisions that are deposited in the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund. Existing law requires the first $1,000,000 in the fund to be transferred each year to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians for the purposes of the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program. Existing law requires all remaining funds to be transferred each year to the Major Risk Medical Insurance Fund for purposes of the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program.

Existing law establishes within the Health Professions Education Foundation the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Program (STMSSP), managed by the foundation and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to promote the education of medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, as specified. begin delete Existing law provides up to $105,000 per recipient in scholarships to selected participants who agree in writing prior to completing an accredited medical or osteopathic school based in the United States to serve in an eligible setting. end delete Existing law establishes the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Account within the Health Professions Education Fund, which consists of private moneys donated to the STMSSP.

This bill would begin delete , beginning January 1, 2014 end delete , require that begin insert , after end insert the first $1,000,000, begin delete be end delete begin insert is end insert transferred each year from the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians, begin delete for purposes of the STMSSP, as specified, upon appropriation by the legislature. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2014, require that no less than $1,000,000 end delete begin insert $600,000 end insert be transferred each year from the begin delete Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund, provided that the fund has $2,000,000 or more in it, end delete begin insert fund end insert to the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Account, for purposes of the STMSSP begin delete , upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would provide that if the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund has a balance of less than $2,000,000, the first $1,000,000 be transferred to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians and the remainder, if any, to the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Account end delete . The bill would require that any amount remaining over the amounts transferred to begin delete the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians and the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Account end delete begin insert those two accounts end insert be transferred each year to the Major Risk Medical Insurance Fund for purposes of the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1341.45 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

1341.45.  

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the
Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund.

(b) The fines and administrative penalties collected pursuant to
this chapter, on and after September 30, 2008, shall be deposited
into the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund.

(c) The fines and administrative penalties deposited into the
Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund shall be
transferred by the department, beginning September 1, 2009, and
annually thereafter, as follows:

(1) The first one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall be transferred
to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians within the
Health Professions Education Fund and shall, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, be used for the purposes of the Steven M.
Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, as specified
in Article 5 (commencing with Section 128550) begin delete or end delete begin insert of end insert Chapter 5
of Part 3 of Division 107 and, notwithstanding Section 128555,
shall not be used to provide funding for the Physician Volunteer
Program.

(2)  begin delete Beginning January 1, 2014, if the Managed Care
Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund has two million dollars
($2,000,000) or more, no less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) end delete
begin insert Six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) end insert shall be transferred to
the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Account
within the Health Professions Education Fund, begin delete created pursuant
to Section 128580, and shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
be used by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development end delete for begin insert purposes of end insert the Steven M. Thompson Medical
School Scholarship Program begin delete for the purposes end delete begin insert , as end insert specified in
Article 6 (commencing with Section 128560) of Chapter 5 of Part
3 of Division 107.

(3) Any amount over the amounts that are subject to transfer as
specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), including accrued interest, in
the fund shall be transferred to the Major Risk Medical Insurance
Fund created pursuant to Section 12739 of the Insurance Code and
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for the Major
Risk Medical Insurance Program for the purposes specified in
Section 12739.1 of the Insurance Code.

begin delete

(4) If the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties
Fund has a balance of less than two million dollars ($2,000,000),
the first one million dollars ($1,000,000), shall be transferred
pursuant to paragraph (1), and the remainder, if any, shall be
transferred to the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship
Account and shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used
for the purposes described in paragraph (2).

end delete

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1356 and Section
1356.1, the fines and administrative penalties authorized pursuant
to this chapter shall not be used to reduce the assessments imposed
on health care service plans pursuant to Section 1356.