BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1116
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1116 (Torres)
As Amended June 19, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :33-0
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 12-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Bonilla, Jones, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Bocanegra, Campos, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Dickinson, Eggman, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Gordon, Hagman, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Maienschein, Skinner, | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| |Ting, Wilk | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Lowenthal |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Medical Board of California (MBC) and the
Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) to develop, by
July 1, 2015, a mechanism for a physician to make a voluntary
contribution to the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan
Repayment Program (STLRP) at the time of application for initial
licensure or biennial renewal.
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 STLRP. (Health and Safety Code
(HSC) Section 128555)
2)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 Section 128553)
3)Requires MBC to assess a $25 licensure fee on physicians and
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surgeons upon license issuance or renewal for the purpose of
funding the STLRP. (Business and Professions Code (BPC)
Section 2436.5)
4)Requires OMBC to assess a $25 licensure fee on physicians and
surgeons upon license issuance or renewal for the purpose of
funding the STLRP. (BPC Section 2455.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor and absorbable costs to the MBC and the OMBC to modify
forms, processes and, if necessary, relevant regulations to
allow voluntary contributions (Contingent Fund of the Medical
Board of California/ Osteopathic Medical Board of California
Contingent Fund).
2)Potential unknown increased revenue to support the STLRP
(Health Professions Education Fund, Medically Underserved
Account for Physicians), to the extent physicians voluntarily
contribute additional funds for the program.
3)The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
(OSHPD), which administers STLRP, could incur minor additional
administrative costs associated with an increased number of
awards (Health Professions Education Fund, Medically
Underserved Account for Physicians).
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill. This bill requires MBC and OMBC to
develop a mechanism for a physician to make a voluntary
contribution to STLRP when applying for a new license or
renewing an existing license. 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."
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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;
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
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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.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0004455