BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 271
AUTHOR: Hernandez
INTRODUCED: February 14, 2013
HEARING DATE: April 3, 2013
CONSULTANT: Moreno
SUBJECT : Associate Degree Nursing Scholarship Program.
SUMMARY : Deletes the January 1, 2014, sunset date in the
section of existing law that establishes the Associate Degree
Nursing Scholarship Pilot Program (ADN Scholarship Program) and
makes other technical, conforming changes.
Existing law: Establishes, until January 1, 2014, the ADN
Scholarship Program in the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development (OSHPD) to provide scholarships to students, as
specified, in counties determined to have the most need.
This bill: Deletes the January 1, 2014, sunset date in the
section of existing law that created the ADN Scholarship Program
and makes other technical, conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal
committee
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) will bring millions of uninsured Californians into the
health delivery system in 2014, exacerbating an already acute
health provider shortage. This shortage reflects a current
inadequate supply of providers attempting to meet the needs of
California's diverse population. Coupled with a
disproportionate geographic distribution of providers and a
graying workforce, this shortage has significant potential to
negatively impact the overall quality of its patient care.
While the nation has been experiencing a shortage of nurses
for more than a decade, it has been particularly acute in
California, where a booming and aging population, combined
with higher education budget cuts, has led to challenges in
meeting the nursing demand. The Registered Nurse shortage has
also resulted in a diminished ability to educate the incoming
population of nursing students. This bill will ensure that
this valuable program continues to operate, providing patient
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SB 271 | Page 2
access to practitioners in medically underserved areas (MUAs).
2.Background. The ADN Scholarship Program provides scholarships
of up to $10,000 to ADN students in exchange for providing
direct patient care in a MUA in California after graduation.
The ADN Scholarship Program is funded from the Registered
Nurse Education Fund (RNEF), which is supported by a $10
surcharge on all RN licensure renewals. According to OSHPD,
the RNEF funds the following programs:
a. ADN Program
b. Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN) Scholarship Program
c. BSN Loan Repayment Program
d. Entry-Level Master's Degree Program
e. Registered Nurse Education Master's or Doctoral Degree
Teaching Program
Currently, 30 percent of the RNEF's $1.7 million budget is
directed to the AND Scholarship Program for scholarships. To
be eligible for an ADN Program scholarship, an applicant must:
a. Be currently accepted or enrolled in an ADN Scholarship
program in California.
b. Be free from any other service obligation.
c. Have valid legal presence and ability to work and
provide care in the state of California.
d. Be willing to work in a MUA for two years.
OSHPD states that the current demand for ADN Scholarship
Program scholarships vastly outweighs the supply of available
funding for the program. Since May 2003 through September
2011, the Health Professions Education Foundation has received
$10.6 million in scholarship applications, and approximately
$3.2 million in ADN Scholarship Program scholarships were
awarded. Below is data related to the number of applications
received and scholarships awarded.
-----------------------------------------------------------
| | Applications | Funds |
-----------------------------------------------------------
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| Year| Received | Awarded | Requested | Awarded |
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2003| 94 | 29 | $ | $ 103,500|
| | | | 752,000| |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
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3
| 2004| 155 | 23 | $1,240,000| $ 152,000|
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2005| 160 | 35 | $1,120,000| $ 214,000|
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2006| 110 | 29 | $ | $ 152,000|
| | | | 524,000| |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2007| 133 | 65 | $ | $ 476,000|
| | | | 824,000| |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2008| 205 | 53 | $ | $ 343,000|
| | | | 580,000| |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2009| 213 | 61 | $1,305,000| $ 575,000|
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2010| 247 | 128 | $2,215,000| $ 683,280|
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2011| 204 | 64 | $2,040,000| $ 484,836|
| | | | | |
|------+-----------+-----------+-------------+--------------|
| 2012 | 124 | 67 | $1,240,000|$582,967 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
1.Support. The California Hospital Association states that it
is difficult for health providers in rural and other
underserved regions of the state to attract a nursing
workforce due to various factors, such as geographic isolation
and a lack of amenities found in more urban environments. The
California Hospital Association further supports that this
program targets students from underserved communities and
provides support for them to obtain the necessary education
for licensure as a registered nurse. The California Nurses
Association states that scholarships are an effective means of
increasing the supply of educated and trained health
professionals, and that ADN Scholarship Program applicants and
awardees represent the state's diverse population, thereby
increasing access to culturally and linguistically appropriate
practitioners in MUAs.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: California Hospital Association
SB 271 | Page 4
California Nurses Association
California Optometric Association
United Nurses Association of California/Union of
Health Care Professionals
Oppose: None received
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