BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 657|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 657
Author: Hernandez (D)
Amended: 9/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 10-1, 7/8/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Cedillo, Cox, DeSaulnier, Leno,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
NOES: Aanestad
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-4, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price,
Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-28, 6/3/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Health professions workforce: master plan
SOURCE : California Academy of Family Physicians
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
DIGEST : This bill requires the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development to establish the Health
Professions Workforce Task Force to assist in the
development of a health professions workforce master plan
for the state.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law:
1. Requires the California Workforce Investment Board
(CWIB) to assist the Governor in the development,
oversight, and continuous improvement of California's
workforce investment system, and requires the CWIB to
assist the Governor in developing the State Workforce
Investment Plan.
2. Requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD) to establish a health care workforce
clearinghouse to serve as the central source of health
care workforce and educational data in the state. The
clearinghouse is responsible for the collection,
analysis, and distribution of information on the
educational and employment trends for health care
occupations in the state.
3. Establishes the California Healthcare Workforce Policy
Commission to identify specific areas of the state where
there are unmet priority needs for dentists, physicians,
and registered nurses.
4. Establishes various health care provider loan repayment
programs funded by licensing fees paid by health care
providers who practice in specified locations, such as
underserved areas.
This bill:
1. Requires OSHPD, in collaboration with the CWIB and based
on information provided by the health care workforce
clearinghouse, to establish the Health Professions
Workforce Task Force (Task Force) to assist in the
development of a health professions workforce master
plan for the state.
The Task Force will be composed of 22 members from both
rural and urban areas representing various educational
institutions (the University of California, California
State University, California Community Colleges, the
Department of Education, an independent or private
postsecondary institution, and a member responsible for
leading a health sciences program in a school district),
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health care providers, labor, health insurers and
medical groups, health facilities, community-based
organizations, as well as two members representing the
Legislature. This bill specifies who appoints the
various members, would require the Task Force to meet at
least three times a year, and would require Task Force
membership to be voluntary and without compensation.
The Task Force will be required to assist OSHPD in the
development of a health professions workforce master
plan, and will be required to do all of the following:
A. Report, assess impact, and review capacity and
effectiveness of existing state and private workforce
training programs to leverage funding resources and
form new partnerships, foster shared learning,
identify best practices, and minimize duplication of
efforts.
B. Review local workforce investment plans and assess
progress toward meeting current health professions
workforce needs.
C. Identify education and employment trends in the
health professions.
D. Identify the 10 health professions with the
highest demand, and develop a plan to meet that
demand.
E. Recommend state policies needed to address the
issues of health professions workforce shortage and
distribution.
F. Compile, assess, and align with other strategic
plans for developing California's health care
workforce.
2. Requires the Task Force, by October 31, 2013, to submit
a complete statewide health professions workforce master
plan to OSHPD and the Legislature. OSHPD would be the
lead in coordinating the Task Force. The Task Force
will be required to seek funds, and OSHPD will be
required to accept funds from the federal government and
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private entities for the purpose of implementing this
section. No state funds, including, but not limited to,
moneys from the General Fund or any special fund, shall
be used to implement this section.
Background
Statewide shortages of health providers currently exist in
several major health professions, such as nursing, primary
care providers, and allied health (allied health
professions are clinical health care professions distinct
from medicine, dentistry, and nursing). Health care
workforce needs are projected to increase dramatically due
to the aging of the population and the state's increasing
diversity. In February of this year, the Senate Health
Committee held a hearing on California's health care
workforce. The background paper prepared by the Senate
Office of Research stated the health care worker shortage
is defined in many ways, citing as examples the following:
1. The state will face a shortage of up to 17,000
physicians by 2015.
2. The Center for California Health Workforce Studies
researchers indicate that the current registered nurse
shortage is between 7,000 and 21,000. This shortage is
expected to grow due to both the aging of the general
population and the nursing workforce.
3. California presently ranks 48th in the nation in the
number of pharmacists per capita. It is projected that
California will need a 26.1 percent growth in the number
of pharmacists from 2006 to 2016.
4. Fifty percent of the public health workforce and 70
percent of community clinic administrators will retire
in the next five to 10 years.
5. Seventy-six percent of clinics report a staffing
shortage of allied health workers.
In addition to the shortages of certain health
professionals, the Senate Office of Research stated
California's health professions workforce does not reflect
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the state's demographic racial and ethnic composition and
language proficiency.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/09)
California Academy of Family Physicians (co-source)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association of California Healthcare Districts
California Commission on Aging
California Dental Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California State Association of Counties
California Society for Clinical Social Work
California WIC Association
Congress of California Seniors
County Health Executives Association of California
Greenlining Institute
Having Our Say
National Hispanic Medical Association
Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
Service Employees International Union
United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health
Care Professionals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Latino Coalition for a Healthy
California (LCHC), a co-sponsor of this bill, writes that
demographic shifts are causing gaps between health
workforce supply and demand as seen in the shortages of
primary care providers and other health professionals.
LCHC states California's population is aging, and is
becoming increasingly more diverse, but its health
professionals have not reflected these changes. LCHC
states that California's efforts to develop its health
workforce have been piece-meal, and that California is
missing an overarching vision, action plan, and
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infrastructure.
The California Academy of Family Physicians, which is also
a co-sponsor, argues the state is in dire need of immediate
and long-term action on health care workforce shortages,
and this bill takes an important step forward in beginning
to address these shortages.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Fletcher,
Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Yamada
CTW/RJG:mw 9/1/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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