BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2102 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2102 (Ting) As Amended August 4, 2014 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |56-15|(May 15, 2014) |SENATE: |27-9 |(August 18, | | | | | | |2014) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: B., P. & C.P. SUMMARY : Requires the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT), the Physician Assistant Board (PAB), and the Respiratory Care Board of California (RCBC) to collect demographic data on their respective licensees and provide that data to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to collect all of the following information on their respective licensees at least biennially, at the time of both issuing an initial license and a renewal license: a) Location of practice, including city, county, and ZIP code; b) Race or ethnicity, by election of the licensee; c) Gender; d) Languages spoken; e) Educational background; and, f) Classification of primary practice site among the types of practice sites specified by the respective boards, including, but not limited to, clinic, hospital, managed care organization, or private practice. 2)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to provide that data annually to OSHPD in a manner directed by OSHPD that allows for inclusion into the annual health care workforce report provided to the Legislature, as specified. AB 2102 Page 2 3)Authorizes BRN to expend $145,000 from the BRN Fund in the Professions and Vocations Fund for the purpose of implementing this bill. 4)Makes Legislative findings and declarations relative to the collection of information about California's health care workforce. 5)Makes other technical and clarifying changes. The Senate amendments clarify that the data should be collected both at initial issuance and renewal of the license, expand the scope of the data collected to include classification of the primary practice site, and authorize BRN to spend $145,000 in implementation. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs of about $130,000 for modifications to the computer software used to process licensing applications (various special funds). COMMENTS : 1)Purpose of this bill. This bill will require BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to report demographic information on their licensees to OSHPD so that OSHPD can collect more complete and consistent data on California's health care workforce. With that data, policy makers will ideally be better able to identify geographic areas of the state where there are shortages of health care workers with cultural and linguistic competencies. This bill is sponsored by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. 2)Author's statement. According to the author's office, "For millions of Californians, comprehensive access to healthcare depends on professionals who can provide culturally and linguistically appropriate medical services. California collects data on healthcare occupations, but current data is insufficient for determining the state's capacity to address the needs of our diverse population, in particular language access. AB 2102 requires the collection and reporting of key demographic data for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, respiratory care providers, vocational AB 2102 Page 3 nurses and psychiatric technicians. This will enable the state to better identify health care disparities and craft solutions to ensure comprehensive coverage and greater health care access for all Californians." 3)The role of OSHPD in data collection. OSHPD was created in 1978 to provide California with an enhanced understanding of the structure and function of its healthcare delivery systems. OSHPD is the statewide leader in collecting data and disseminating information about California's healthcare infrastructure, promoting an equitably distributed healthcare workforce, and publishing valuable information about healthcare outcomes. OSHPD currently publishes an annual report to the Legislature with information on education and employment trends in the health care professions, current supply and demand for health care workers, and gaps in the educational pipeline producing workers in specific occupations and geographic area. Available information for these reports is limited, however. According to the author's office, race, language capacity, and gender demographic information would greatly enrich the quality of OSHPD's reports and better inform policymaking. While some boards, such as BRN, do collect demographic data on their licensees, this bill would standardize the information required to be collected and formalize its inclusion in OSHPD's annual report. The author's office reports that these boards were chosen because the Medical Board of California and Dental Board of California already collect this demographic information, and the remaining boards affected by this bill represent professionals who work closely with patients and already report some information to OSHPD. Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B., P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301 FN: 0004973