Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1176

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert Bocanegra begin insert and Bonta end insert

February 22, 2013

begin delete An act to amend Section 92655.1 of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education. end delete begin insert An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 128310) to Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health care. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1176, as amended, Bocanegra. begin delete University of California: health professions education outreach. end delete begin insert Medical residency training program grants. end insert

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Existing law, the Song-Brown Family Physician Training Act, declares the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of students and residents receiving quality education and training in the specialty of family practice and as primary care physician’s assistants and primary care nurse practitioners. Existing law establishes, for this purpose, a state medical contract program with accredited medical schools, programs that train primary care physician’s assistants, programs that train primary care nurse practitioners, registered nurses, hospitals, and other health care delivery systems.

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Existing law establishes the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, identify specific areas of the state that have unmet priority needs, and review and make recommendations to the Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development concerning the funding of those programs that are submitted to the Health Professions Development Program for participation in the state medical contract program.

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The bill would establish the Graduate Medical Education Fund in the State Treasury to consist of annual assessments, on insurers or health care services plans that provide prescribed health care coverage, of $5 per covered life. The bill would require that moneys in the fund be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund grants to graduate medical residency training programs. The bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in consultation with the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission, to develop criteria for distribution of available funds.

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This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2⁄3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

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Existing law establishes the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state and provides the university with exclusive jurisdiction in public postsecondary education over graduate instruction in the professions of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. Existing law requests the regents to use existing resources to establish dental, medical, and optometric health professions outreach and exposure programs.

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This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Article 4 (commencing with Section 128310) is
added to Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the end insert begin insert Health and
Safety Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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Article begin insert 4. end insert   Medical Residency Training Program Grants

 

begin insert 128310. end insert   

(a) The Graduate Medical Education Fund is hereby
established in the State Treasury.

(b) Moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, be used solely for the purpose of funding grants to
graduate medical education residency programs in California.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 16305.7 of the Government Code,
all interest earned on the moneys that have been deposited into
the fund shall be retained in the fund and used for purposes
consistent with the fund.

(d) The fund shall consist of all of the following:

(1) All assessments received pursuant to Section 128311.

(2) Any interest that accrues on amounts in the fund.

(e) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development,
in consultation with the California Healthcare Workforce Policy
Commission, shall develop criteria for distribution of available
moneys in the fund. In developing the criteria, the office shall give
priority to programs that meet the following specifications:

(1) Are located in medically underserved areas, as defined in
Section 128552.

(2) Have a proven record of placing graduates in those
medically underserved areas.

(3) Place an emphasis on training primary care providers.

(4) Place an emphasis on training physician specialties that are
most needed in the community in which the program is located.

(f) Moneys appropriated from the fund may also be used to fund
existing graduate medical education residency slots as well as new
graduate medical education residency slots.

(g) Whenever applicable, the office shall utilize moneys
appropriated from the fund to provide a match for available federal
funds for graduate medical education.

begin insert 128311. end insert   

(a) Every health insurer or health care service plan
that provides health care coverage in this state shall pay an annual
graduate medical education assessment of five dollars ($5.00) for
each covered life to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy
Commission for deposit into the Graduate Medical Education
Fund for the purposes of this article.

(b) This section shall not apply to dental-only, vision-only, or
Medicare supplement plans or policies or to coverage provided
under any public program, including, but not limited to, Medi-Cal
or the Healthy Families Program.

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begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 92655.1 of the Education Code is
amended to read:

92655.1.  

The Legislature requests the Regents of the University
of California, to the extent possible, to use existing resources to
establish dental, medical, and optometric health professions
outreach and exposure programs for elementary and high school
pupils and undergraduate students, including community college
students.

end delete