Senate Bill No. 1184

Introduced by Senator Cannella

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 128200 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health care.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1184, as introduced, Cannella. Health care: workforce training programs.

Existing law, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act, declares the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of students and residents receiving quality education and training in specified primary care specialties and as primary care physician’s assistants, primary care nurse practitioners, and registered nurses.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 128200 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

128200.  

(a) This article shall be begin delete known end delete begin insert known, end insert and may be
begin delete cited end delete begin insert cited, end insert as the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training
Act.

(b) (1)  The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
physicians engaged in family medicine are in very short supply in
California. The current emphasis placed on specialization in
medical education has resulted in a shortage of physicians trained
to provide comprehensive primary health care to families. The
Legislature hereby declares that it regards the furtherance of a
greater supply of competent family physicians to be a public
purpose of great importance and further declares the establishment
of the program pursuant to this article to be a desirable, necessary,
and economical method of increasing the number of family
physicians to provide needed medical services to the people of
California. The Legislature further declares that it is to the benefit
of the state to assist in increasing the number of competent family
physicians graduated by colleges and universities of this state to
provide primary health care services to families within the state.

(2) The Legislature finds that the shortage of family physicians
can be improved by the placing of a higher priority by public and
private medical schools, hospitals, and other health care delivery
systems in this state, on the recruitment and improved training of
medical students and residents to meet the need for family
physicians. To help accomplish this goal, each medical school in
begin delete California end delete begin insert the state end insert is encouraged to organize a strong family
medicine program or department. It is the intent of the Legislature
that the programs or departments be headed by a physician who
possesses specialty certification in the field of family medicine,
and has broad clinical experience in the field of family medicine.

(3) The Legislature further finds that encouraging the training
of primary care physician’s assistants and primary care nurse
practitioners will assist in making primary health care services
more accessible to the begin delete citizenry, end delete begin insert residents end insert and will, in conjunction
with the training of family physicians, lead to an improved health
care delivery system in begin delete California end delete begin delete . end delete begin insert the state. end insert

(4) Community hospitals in general and rural community
hospitals in particular, as well as other health care delivery systems,
are encouraged to develop family medicine residencies in affiliation
or association with accredited medical schools, to help meet the
need for family physicians in geographical areas of the state with
recognized family primary health care needs. Utilization of
expanded resources beyond university-based teaching hospitals
should be emphasized, including facilities in rural areas wherever
possible.

(5) The Legislature also finds and declares that nurses are in
very short supply in begin delete California. end delete begin insert the state. end insert The Legislature hereby
declares that it regards the furtherance of a greater supply of nurses
to be a public purpose of great importance and further declares the
expansion of the program pursuant to this article to include nurses
to be a desirable, necessary, and economical method of increasing
the number of nurses to provide needed nursing services to the
people of California.

(6) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for a program
designed primarily to increase the number of students and residents
receiving quality education and training in the primary care
specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and
gynecology, and pediatrics and as primary care physician’s
assistants, primary care nurse practitioners, and registered nurses
and to maximize the delivery of primary care family physician
services to specific areas of California where there is a recognized
unmet priority need. This program is intended to be implemented
through contracts with accredited medical schools, teaching health
centers, programs that train primary care physician’s assistants,
programs that train primary care nurse practitioners, programs that
train registered nurses, hospitals, and other health care delivery
systems based on per-student or per-resident capitation formulas.
It is further intended by the Legislature that the programs will be
professionally and administratively accountable so that the
maximum cost-effectiveness will be achieved in meeting the
professional training standards and criteria set forth in this article
and Article 2 (commencing with Section 128250).