BILL NUMBER: AB 174 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 9, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gray
(Principal coauthor: Senator Cannella)
JANUARY 22, 2015
An act relating to the University of California, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 174, as amended, Gray. University of California: medical
education.
Existing provisions of the California Constitution establish the
University of California as a public trust under the administration
of the Regents of the University of California. The University of
California system includes 10 campuses, which are located in
Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego,
San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.
This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature relating to the role of the University of California with
respect to access to health care in the San Joaquin Valley.
The bill would appropriate $1,855,000 from the General Fund to the
regents each fiscal year, commencing with the 2015-17
2016-17 fiscal year, for allocation to the
University of California to support expansion of the San Joaquin
Valley Program in Medical Education, as specified.
The bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the
Regents of the University of California during the 2015-17
2016-17 fiscal year for allocation to the
University of California to support a 2-year planning effort geared
toward the establishment of a separate traditional medical school at
the University of California, Merced, as specified.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act, when fully implemented in 2014, will mean that
Act provides millions of previously uninsured Californians
will be seeking access to health
services, including physician care. As a result of this additional
demand for physician services, the projected statewide physician
shortfall is 17,000 for 2015.
(b) The San Joaquin Valley, which runs from Stockton to
Bakersfield, is rich in cultural diversity and is the nation's
leading agricultural region. However, the valley is
disproportionately affected by the state's physician shortage, which
is expected to intensify in the years ahead given the high rate of
population growth in the area. Access to health care is 31 percent
lower in the San Joaquin Valley than in the rest of California.
(c) Several regions of the San Joaquin Valley are federally
designated Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). The calculation of
MUAs involves four variables: the ratio of primary medical care
physicians per 1,000 population, the infant mortality rate, the
percentage of the population with incomes below the poverty level,
and the percentage of the population 65 years of age or over.
(d) To help address California's physician workforce needs, the
Regents of the University of California engaged in a comprehensive
strategic planning process and, in May 2008, approved moving forward
with planning efforts leading to the development of a possible
medical school at the campus of the University of California, Merced
(UC Merced). At that time, the regents also approved moving forward
with other preparations, such as planning for the initial basic
sciences and clinical infrastructure. Upon completion of these and
other activities, the regents envisioned that a formal proposal to
establish a new medical school eventually could be developed.
(e) The medical schools of the University of California, including
a possible future medical school at UC Merced, will play an
important role in addressing California's physician shortages.
(f) Medical education and a possible future UC Merced School of
Medicine will further contribute to the economic growth of the San
Joaquin Valley and the state, as well as expand educational
opportunities for valley residents, and will further support UC
Merced's trajectory toward becoming a top-tier university.
(g) UC Merced's San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education
(PRIME) is providing a key interim resource for training valley
health care providers. This program accomplishes all of the
following:
(1) Strengthens the desire for new physicians to practice in the
San Joaquin Valley, which is one of California's most medically
underserved areas.
(2) Reduces health disparities and inequalities in the San Joaquin
Valley.
(3) Forms lasting relationships between the program and
communities, hospitals, clinics, and physicians to enhance health
care in the region.
(h) Students who take part in PRIME benefit from firsthand
experience with interdisciplinary health care by providing care in
medically underserved communities, working with patients and families
from culturally diverse backgrounds, and developing a true
understanding of the issues and conditions that impact access to and
quality of health care in the region.
(i) Despite its numerous benefits for its region, PRIME lacks an
ongoing source of funding for its current enrollment as well as the
financial resources to expand capacity to meet the needs of the
valley.
(j) Given the San Joaquin Valley's health care needs and the
critical role that a possible future medical school at UC Merced
would play in addressing those needs, it is essential for the State
of California to continue developing the valley's health care
resources by sustaining the current PRIME enrollment, expanding that
program's capacity, and continuing to move toward the establishment
of a medical school at UC Merced.
SEC. 2. The sum of one million eight hundred fifty-five thousand
dollars ($1,855,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to
the Regents of the University of California each fiscal year,
commencing with the 2015-17 2016-17
fiscal year, for allocation to the University of California to
support expansion of the San Joaquin Valley PRIME program to admit up
to 12 students per year and operate the program with up to 48
student participants from across the four-year curriculum annually.
SEC. 3. The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) is hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the Regents of the University
of California during the 2015-17 2016--
17 fiscal year for allocation to the University of
California, to support a two-year planning effort geared toward the
establishment of a separate traditional medical school at the
University of California, Merced. The effort shall include
determination of the necessary program components such as basic and
clinical science courses, curriculum, capital needs, one-time and
ongoing operational funding, student support services, and other
necessary components. The University of California shall submit a
report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature by March 1, 2018, 2019,
summarizing its planning efforts and providing recommendations and
estimates for the infrastructure, personnel, and funding, and time
necessary to establish and maintain such a program.