BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2214
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 2214 (Monning) - As Amended: March 27, 2012
SUBJECT : Health workforce development.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Health Workforce Development Council
(Council) within the California Workforce Investment Board
(CWIB) to help expand the state's health workforce.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires CWIB to establish a special committee known as the
Council to help expand the state's health workforce in order
to provide access to quality healthcare for all Californians.
States legislative intent to expand the state's primary care
workforce between 2013 and 2023.
2)Specifies that the membership of the Council is to consist of
the appropriate representatives from the CWIB's existing
membership, as well as representatives from other state
agencies and departments, higher education, labor, the
healthcare industry, workforce groups, philanthropic and
nongovernmental entities, and other appropriate health
advocates.
3)Requires the Council to do all of the following:
a) Develop a comprehensive statewide plan and
implementation strategy for health workforce development
through strategic partnerships;
b) Examine proven strategies and policies to increase
health workforce supply that can be replicated and deployed
through sector strategy and other models;
c) Provide guidance on the development and maturation of
regional health workforce partnerships to address regional
healthcare and delivery system needs;
d) Use regional partnerships to identify and inform
regional and statewide health workforce development
priorities; and,
e) Seek expertise from multisector representatives to
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enhance the understanding of the issues and policies needed
to ensure that California has the necessary workforce to
provide access to quality, culturally, and linguistically
appropriate healthcare.
4)States that the CWIB representative will be the chair of the
Council.
5)Requires the Council to inform the Legislature of its health
initiatives and progress through its annual report to the
federal Department of Labor. Specifies that this report must
comply with existing reporting requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes CWIB within the California Labor and Workforce
Development Agency.
2)Requires CWIB to establish a special committee known as the
Green Collar Jobs Council (GCJC) comprised of the appropriate
representatives from the CWIB existing membership, including
K-12 representative, the California Community Colleges
representative, the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency representative, the Employment Development Department
representative, and other appropriate members. Authorizes
CWIB to call on other state agencies, other higher education
representatives, and industry representatives as well as
philanthropic, nongovernmental, and environmental groups as
appropriate and necessary to serve as consultants to the GCJC
in the development of green jobs initiative.
3)Establishes, under federal law, the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to, among other things,
consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training,
literacy, and vocational programs in the United States.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . The author is the sponsor of this
measure. According to the author, to assist in the
implementation of federal healthcare reform, support the
expansion of insurance coverage, address the shortages and
maldistribution of providers, there is a need for an adequate
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healthcare workforce with the necessary skills. According to
the author, this bill will establish within the CWIB the
Council to help expand California's healthcare workforce. The
Council would provide a forum for broad stakeholder agreement,
assist in identifying and addressing regional needs, and allow
for the collaboration of various public, private, non-profit,
and non-governmental groups to assist in developing a
statewide plan and implementation strategy for addressing the
health workforce needs of Californians, especially in primary
care.
According to the author, this measure is necessary to ensure the
development, oversight, and continuous improvement of
California's health workforce. The importance of health
workforce in the implementation of the ACA was echoed by a
2011 study by the Center for the Health Professions of the
University of California San Francisco entitled "California's
Health Care Workforce: Readiness for the ACA Era." This
report indicated that "the broad challenges of expanded
insurance coverage and new financing models will be possible
only with an adequate healthcare workforce that has the
requisite skills and expectations to create new practice
models for care delivery. . . . Meaningful decisions about
expanding coverage and moving to new practice models need
solid workforce data and analysis." The study indicated that
with California's implementation of ACA, four to six million
more Californians will obtain healthcare coverage. As such,
there is a need not only for a sufficient number of providers
but also providers who can meet the needs of a diverse and
changing public. Specifically, the study points out that
primary care will be the area most immediately affected
because preventive care and chronic disease management become
increasingly important.
2)BACKGROUND .
a) Health Workforce and the Federal Health Care Reform . On
March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) which included
provisions to expand healthcare workforce (Title V).
Specifically, the ACA funds scholarships and loan repayment
programs to increase the number of primary care physicians,
nurses, physician assistants, mental health providers, and
dentists in the areas of the country that are most in need.
Through new incentives and recruitment, the ACA aims to
increase the supply of public health professionals so that
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the United States is prepared for health emergencies. The
ACA also provides state and local governments flexibility
and resources to develop health workforce recruitment
strategies.
The stated purpose of Title V is to improve access to and the
delivery of healthcare services for all individuals,
particularly low income, underserved, uninsured, minority,
health disparity, and rural populations by: i) gathering
and assessing comprehensive data in order for the
healthcare workforce to meet the healthcare needs of
individuals, including research on the supply, demand,
distribution, diversity, and skills needs of the healthcare
workforce; ii) increasing the supply of a qualified
healthcare workforce to improve access to and the delivery
of healthcare services for all individuals; iii) enhancing
healthcare workforce education and training to improve
access to and the delivery of healthcare services for all
individuals; and, iv) providing support to the existing
healthcare workforce to improve access to and the delivery
of healthcare services for all individuals.
b) Health Workforce Development Council . As part of ACA
implementation, on August 17, 2010, the Council was
established as a special committee within CWIB. The
Council is tasked with understanding the current and future
workforce needs of California's health delivery system, and
the development of a comprehensive strategy to meet those
needs, with the goal of expanding California's full-time
primary care workforce between 2013 and 2023. Currently,
the members of the Council include industry, education,
health professionals, philanthropy, health advocates,
economic development, representatives of elected officials,
the public workforce system, and organized labor. In
September 2010, a $150,000 grant was awarded to California
from the Health Resources and Services Administration of
the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency with match money
provided by CWIB and in-kind staff support by CWIB and the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
According to CWIB, this funding will assist California in
the development of a comprehensive statewide plan and
implementation strategy for health workforce development
through strategic partnerships. This bill codifies the
establishment of the Council within CWIB and defines some
of the important functions of the Council in achieving its
objective of increasing healthcare workforce in California,
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with emphasis on primary care.
c) CWIB . The CWIB is charged with developing a
comprehensive workforce development plan for the State as
described in the Workforce Training Act of 2008 and WIA.
The CWIB is responsible for assisting the Governor in the
development, oversight and continuous improvement of
California's workforce investment system. Existing law
authorizes the Governor to designate Local Workforce
Investment Areas (LWIAs) based on population and
commonality of labor markets. Currently, there are 49
LWIAs. Each LWIA is administered by a Local Workforce
Investment Board (LWIB) certified by the State in
partnership with local elected officials. LWIBs are
comprised of representatives from private sector
businesses, organized labor, community-based organizations,
local government agencies, and local education agencies.
LWIBs provide, among other things, policy guidance and
oversee the job training activities within their local
areas.
3)SUPPORT . According to the California Hospital Association,
establishing the Council within CWIB, and requiring the
Council to develop a comprehensive statewide plan and
implementation strategy for health workforce development
through strategic partnerships will lead to increased
coordination and collaboration around the issue, resulting in
the development of solutions that are responsive to regional
and statewide demand for health professionals. The California
Society of Health-System Pharmacists further points out that
this bill would improve the quality of life of Californians by
ensuring that there is adequate access to healthcare providers
in the near future.
4)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION . AB 3018 (Nu�ez), Chapter 312, Statutes
of 2008, established GCJC within the CWIB, to perform
specified tasks related to addressing the workforce needs that
accompany California's growing green economy. AB 3018
required GCJC to develop a strategic initiative to identify
and develop the framework, funding, strategies, programs,
policies, partnerships, and opportunities necessary to address
the growing need for a highly skilled and well-trained
workforce to meet the needs of California's emerging green
economy.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
American Cancer Society
California Hospital Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Psychological Association
California Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rosielyn Pulmano / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097