BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2102
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 2102 (Ting) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Licensees: data collection.
SUMMARY : Requires the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), the
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT),
the Physician Assistant Board (PAB), and the Respiratory Care
Board of California (RCBC) to collect demographic data on their
respective licensees and provide that data to the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to annually collect all of
the following information on their respective licensees:
a) Location of practice;
b) Race or ethnicity;
c) Gender;
d) Languages spoken; and,
e) Educational background.
2)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to provide that data
annually to OSHPD in a manner directed by OSHPD that allows
for inclusion into the annual health care workforce report
provided to the Legislature, as specified.
3)Makes Legislative findings and declarations relative to the
collection of information about California's health care
workforce.
4)Makes technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires BRN to collect and analyze workforce data from its
licensees for future workforce planning and produce reports at
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least biennially. (Business and Professions Code Section
2717)
2)Requires OSHPD to prepare an annual report to the Legislature
that does all of the following:
a) Identify education and employment trends in the health
care profession;
b) Report on the current supply and demand for health care
workers in California and gaps in the educational pipeline
producing workers in specific occupations and geographic
areas; and,
c) Recommend state policy needed to address issues of
workforce shortage and distribution. (Health and Safety
Code Section 128052)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill will require BRN, BVNPT, PAB,
and RCBC to report demographic information on their licensees
to OSHPD so that OSHPD can collect more complete and
consistent data on California's health care workforce. With
that data, policy makers will ideally be better able to
identify geographic areas of the state where there are
shortages of health care workers with cultural and linguistic
competencies. This bill is sponsored by the California
Pan-Ethnic Health Network and the Latino Coalition for a
Healthy California.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office, "For
millions of Californians, comprehensive access to healthcare
depends on professionals who can provide culturally and
linguistically appropriate medical services. California
collects data on healthcare occupations, but current data is
insufficient for determining the state's capacity to address
the needs of our diverse population, in particular language
access. AB 2102 requires the collection and reporting of key
demographic data for registered nurses, nurse practitioners,
physician assistants, respiratory care providers, vocational
nurses and psychiatric technicians. This will enable the state
to better identify health care disparities and craft solutions
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to ensure comprehensive coverage and greater health care
access for all Californians."
3)OSHPDs role in health care workforce data collection. OSHPD
was created in 1978 to provide California with an enhanced
understanding of the structure and function of its healthcare
delivery systems. OSHPD is the statewide leader in collecting
data and disseminating information about California's
healthcare infrastructure, promoting an equitably distributed
healthcare workforce, and publishing valuable information
about healthcare outcomes.
OSHPD publishes an annual report to the Legislature with
information on education and employment trends in the health
care professions, current supply and demand for health care
workers, and gaps in the educational pipeline producing
workers in specific occupations and geographic area.
Available information for these reports is limited, however.
According to the author's office, race, language capacity, and
gender demographic information would greatly enrich the
quality of OSHPD's reports and better inform policymaking.
While some boards, such as BRN, do collect demographic data on
its licensees, this bill would standardize the information
required to be collected and formalize its inclusion in
OSHPD's annual report.
The author's office reports that these boards were chosen
because the Medical Board of California and Dental Board of
California already collect this demographic information, and
the remaining boards in this bill already report some
information to OSHPD and represent those professionals who
work closely with patients.
4)Arguments in support . The Latino Coalition for a Healthy
California writes in support, "AB 2102 aligns with our mission
and builds off an existing practice to assure we collect
demographic data from fee-supported boards on allied health
professions in order to provide culturally and linguistically
appropriate quality care to all Californians. We are committed
to address[ing] workforce deficiencies for culturally and
linguistically specific subpopulations that have traditionally
faced barriers to quality care, including Spanish speaking,
Latino communities.
"Expanding the collection of demographic data to include:
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registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants,
respiratory health providers, vocational nurses, and
psychiatric technicians is important to meet the current and
future needs of an increasingly diverse constituency. For
these reasons, we ask for your support on this important
measure."
5)Previous legislation . AB 1140 (Thompson) (Chapter 1089,
Statutes of 2002) required BRN to collect and analyze
workforce data from its licensees for future work force
planning, and to produce reports on the workforce data it
collects at least biennially.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (sponsor)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (sponsor)
ACLU of California
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Borrego Community Health Foundation
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Greenlining Institute
Having Our Say
Worksite Wellness LA
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301