BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1116
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
SB 1116 (Torres) - As Amended: June 19, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 33-0
SUBJECT : Physicians and surgeons.
SUMMARY : Requires the Medical Board of California (MBC) to
develop a mechanism for a physician to pay a voluntary
contribution, at the time of application for initial licensure
or biennial renewal, to the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps
Loan Repayment Program (STLRP) on or before July 1, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians
(Account) within the Health Professions Education Fund that is
managed by the Health Professions Education Foundation
(Foundation) and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD), and specifies that the primary purpose of
the Account is to fund the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps
Loan Repayment Program. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section
128555)
2)Authorizes the Foundation to seek and receive matching funds
from foundations and private sources to be placed in the
Account. (HSC 128555 (d))
3)Establishes the STLRP, which provides for the repayment of
educational loans, as specified, obtained by a physician and
surgeon who agrees to practice in a medically underserved area
of the state, as defined. (HSC 128553)
4)Licenses and regulates physicians and surgeons by the Medical
Board of California (MBC), and specifies that the protection
of the public is the highest priority of the MBC. (Business
and Professions Code (BPC) Sections 2001, 2001.1)
5)Requires the MBC to assess a $25 licensure fee on physicians
and surgeons upon license issuance or renewal for the purpose
of funding the STLRP. (BPC 2436.5)
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6)Licenses and regulates osteopathic physicians and surgeons by
the Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC), and
specifies that the protection of the public is the highest
priority of the OMBC. (BPC 2450, 2450.1)
7)Requires the OMBC to assess a $25 licensure fee on physicians
and surgeons upon license issuance or renewal for the purpose
of funding the STLRP. (BPC 2455.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill requires MBC to develop a
mechanism for a physician to pay a voluntary contribution, at
the time of application for initial licensure or biennial
renewal, to STLRP on or before July 1, 2015. This bill is
author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office, "Since
its inception, the STLRP has awarded more than $28 million
dollars to 338 individuals. The loan repayment program
continues to receive competitive and quality applications.
High demand for the program has resulted in only one out of
every three applicants successfully receiving funding. From
2007 to 2011, the STLRP received 323 applications and only
[presented awards to] 135 physicians due to limited funding."
3)STLRP . STLRP encourages recently licensed physicians to
practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in
California by repaying up to $105,000 in educational loans in
exchange for a minimum of three years of full-time service.
The following requirements must be met to be considered for an
award:
a) Be an allopathic or osteopathic physician;
b) Be free of any contractual service obligations (i.e. the
National Health Service Corps Federal Loan Repayment
Program or other financial incentive programs);
c) Have outstanding educational debt from a government or
commercial lending institution;
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d) Have a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine
in California;
e) Be currently employed or have accepted employment in a
HPSA in California; and,
f) Commit to providing full-time direct patient care in a
HPSA for a minimum of three years.
HPSAs are designated by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA) as having shortages of primary medical care, dental or
mental health providers and may be geographic (a county or
service area), demographic (low income population) or
institutional (comprehensive health center, federally
qualified health center or other public facility).
STLRP is funded by a $25 physician and surgeon license fee,
California Department of Managed Health Care fines and
penalties, donations and grants, and the Surplus Money
Investment Fund. It should be noted that, while approximately
only one in three STLRP applications received funding from
2007 to 2011, not all applicants were eligible for the award,
suggesting that a much larger proportion of eligible
applicants have received aid under STLRP.
STLRP also received a $6 million dollar grant from The
California Endowment for the 2013/14 cycle to help implement
the Affordable Care Act, effectively tripling STLRP's revenue.
It is anticipated that a commensurate additional number of
applicants will be awarded based on this increased funding.
This bill is intended to further augment STLRP funds by
allowing physicians to make a voluntary contribution at the
time of application for initial licensure or biennial renewal.
4)Arguments in support . MBC writes, "This bill would allow for
additional funding for the STLRP, which will help allow for
more loans for the STLRP and more physicians to serve in
underserved areas. This bill would further support the
Board's mission of promoting access to care and [MBC] will
continue to be supportive of any measures that help fund or
make improvements to the STLRP."
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Arthritis Foundation Council
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians
California Primary Care Association
California Rheumatology Alliance
Medical Board of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301