BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 21
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 21 (Roth)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
HIGHER EDUCATION 12-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Williams, Chávez, Bloom, | | |
| |Fong, Fox, Levine, | | |
| |Linder, Medina, Olsen, | | |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requests the School of Medicine at the University of
California, Riverside (UCR) to develop a program, consistent
with its mission, in conjunction with the health facilities of
its medical residency programs, to identify eligible medical
residents and to assist those medical residents in applying for
physician retention programs, including, but not limited to, the
Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program; and
lists a variety of legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW : Section 9, Article IX of the California State
Constitution creates the University of California to be
administered by the UC Regents with full powers of organization
and government. Additionally, Section 1, Article IV vests
legislative powers in the California Legislature which consists
of the Senate and Assembly and empowers the Legislature with the
ability to appropriate funds with a two-thirds vote, except the
budget bill and bills appropriating funds for public schools.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This measure is keyed non-fiscal by
the Legislative Counsel.
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
SB 21
Page 2
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
School of Medicine in order to potentially enroll in the
inaugural class in August 2013.
2013 Budget Act and Higher Education Budget Trailer bill .
Assembly Bill 110 (Blumenfield), Chapter 20, Statutes of 2013,
contains a $2.8 billion General Fund appropriation for the
support and operations of the UC. Additionally, the Higher
Education Trailer bill (AB 94 (Budget Committee), Chapter 50,
Statutes of 2013) contains other statutory changes to implement
agreements reached in constructing the 2013 Budget.
AB 94, Section 16, specifies that of the amount appropriated in
the UC budget item, the sum of $15 million is allocated to the
UC Regents for the UCR School of Medicine. AB 94 further
clarifies that the $15 million is available for planning and
startup costs associated with academic programs offered by the
UCR School of Medicine, including ongoing operational support.
Finally, AB 94 requires the UC to report annually by April 1,
progress reports, as specified, pertaining to funding,
recruitment, hiring, and outcomes for the UCR School of
SB 21
Page 3
Medicine.
California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) . Prior to
2011, CPEC was charged, among other things, with reviewing
proposals for new academic and vocational programs at
California's public colleges and universities and with making
recommendations to the Legislature and Governor. In 2008, CPEC
found that the UC proposal to establish a School of Medicine at
the Riverside campus fully met the Commission's Guidelines for
Approval of New Programs. It was also recommended UC consider
establishing the medical school at a later date when the state's
economic and fiscal conditions are more favorable.
Need for the bill . According to 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 2015, 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 an estimated 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
later this month, and is planning a number of policies to
encourage its graduates to remain in the Inland Empire and
practice primary care medicine.
Purpose of this bill . According to the author this measure
seeks to address the primary care physician shortage faced by
the Inland Empire by helping to ensure more doctors are educated
SB 21
Page 4
and trained locally.
The Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program
encourages recently licensed physicians to practice in Health
Professional Shortage Areas in California (the Inland Empire
being one of these areas). The program authorizes a plan for
repaying up to $105,000 in educational loans in exchange for
full-time service for a minimum of three years.
Related legislation . AB 27 (Medina) which is identical to this
bill, is currently on the Senate Floor.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0001582