Bill Text: CA AB589 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Medical school scholarships.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-09-17 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 339, Statutes of 2012. [AB589 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB589-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 589 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 339
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 17, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Perea
(Principal coauthors: Senators Alquist and Rubio)
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 128560) to
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to health professions.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 589, Perea. Medical school scholarships.
Existing law establishes the Medically Underserved Account for
Physicians within the Health Professions Education Fund that is
managed by the Health Professions Education Foundation and the Office
of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Under existing law,
the primary purpose of the account is to fund the Steven M. Thompson
Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, which provides for the
repayment of prescribed educational loans, not to exceed $105,000 per
individual, obtained by a physician and surgeon who practices in a
medically underserved area of the state.
This bill would establish within the Health Professions Education
Foundation the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Program
(STMSSP), managed by the foundation and the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development to promote the education of medical
doctors and doctors of osteopathy, as specified. This bill would
provide up to $105,000 per recipient in scholarships to selected
participants who agree in writing prior to completing an accredited
medical or osteopathic school based in the United States to serve in
an eligible setting.
This bill would establish the Steven M. Thompson Medical School
Scholarship Account within the Health Professions Education Fund,
which would consist of private moneys donated to the STMSSP. This
bill would provide that no General Fund moneys shall be used to
implement these provisions and that the STMSSP be implemented only to
the extent that the account contains sufficient funds as determined
by the foundation.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 6 (commencing with Section 128560) is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 6. Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship
Program
128560. (a) There is hereby established within the Health
Professions Education Foundation, the Steven M. Thompson Medical
School Scholarship Program.
(b) It is the intent of this article that the foundation and the
office provide the ongoing program management for the program.
128565. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Account" means the Steven M. Thompson Medical School
Scholarship Account established within the Health Professions
Education Fund pursuant to this article.
(b) "Foundation" means the Health Professions Education
Foundation.
(c) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited-English-proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000 LEP individuals eligible for Medi-Cal
residing in a county, 1,000 LEP individuals eligible for Medi-Cal
residing in a single ZIP Code, or 1,500 LEP individuals eligible for
Medi-Cal residing in two contiguous ZIP Codes.
(d) "Medically underserved area" means an area defined as a health
professional shortage area in Part 5 (commencing with Sec. 5.1) of
Subchapter A of Chapter 1 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal
Regulations or an area of the state where unmet priority needs for
physicians exist as determined by the California Healthcare Workforce
Policy Commission pursuant to Section 128225.
(e) "Medically underserved population" means the persons served by
the Medi-Cal program, the Healthy Families Program, and uninsured
populations.
(f) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD).
(g) "Practice setting" means either of the following:
(1) A community clinic as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1204 and subdivision (c) of Section 1206, a clinic owned or operated
by a public hospital and health system, or a clinic owned and
operated by a hospital that maintains the primary contract with a
county government to fulfill the county's role pursuant to Section
17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, each of which is located
in a medically underserved area and at least 50 percent of whose
patients are from a medically underserved population.
(2) A medical practice located in a medically underserved area and
at least 50 percent of whose patients are from a medically
underserved population.
(h) "Primary specialty" means family practice, internal medicine,
pediatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology.
(i) "Program" means the Steven M. Thompson Medical School
Scholarship Program.
(j) "Selection committee" means the advisory committee of not more
than seven members established pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 128551.
(k) "Super-medically underserved area" means an area defined as
medically underserved pursuant to subdivision (d) that also meets a
heightened criteria of physician shortage as determined by the
foundation.
128570. (a) Persons participating in the program shall be persons
who agree in writing prior to completing an accredited medical or
osteopathic school based in the United States to serve in an eligible
practice setting, pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 128565, for
at least three years. The program shall be used only for the purpose
of promoting the education of medical doctors and doctors of
osteopathy and related administrative costs.
(b) A program participant shall commit to three years of full-time
professional practice once the participant has achieved full
licensure pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of
Chapter 5 or Section 2099.5 of the Business and Professions Code and
after completing an accredited residency program. The obligated
professional service shall be in direct patient care in an eligible
practice setting pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 128565.
(1) Leaves of absence either during medical school or service
obligation shall be permitted for serious illness, pregnancy, or
other natural causes. The selection committee shall develop the
process for determining the maximum permissible length of an absence,
the maximum permissible leaves of absences, and the process for
reinstatement. Awarding of scholarship funds shall be deferred until
the participant is back to full-time status.
(2) Full-time status shall be defined by the selection committee.
The selection committee may establish exemptions from this
requirement on a case-by-case basis.
(c) The maximum allowable amount per total scholarship shall be
one hundred five thousand dollars ($105,000). These moneys shall be
distributed over the course of a standard medical school curriculum.
The distribution of funds shall increase over the course of medical
school, increasing to ensure that at least 45 percent of the total
scholarship award is distributed upon matriculation in the final year
of school.
(d) In the event the program participant does not complete medical
school and the minimum three years of professional service pursuant
to the contractual agreement between the foundation and the
participant, the office shall recover the funds awarded plus the
maximum allowable interest for failure to begin or complete the
service obligation.
128575. (a) The selection committee shall use guidelines
developed by the office that meet all of the following criteria to
select scholarship recipients:
(1) Provide priority consideration to applicants who are best
suited to meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of
patients from medically underserved populations and who meet one or
more of the following criteria:
(A) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(B) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(C) Have experience working in medically underserved areas or with
medically underserved populations.
(2) Give preference to applicants who have committed to practicing
in a primary specialty.
(3) Give preference to applicants who will serve in a practice
setting in a super-medically underserved area.
(4) Include a factor ensuring geographic distribution of
placements.
(b) The selection committee may award up to 20 percent of the
available scholarships to program applicants who will practice
specialties outside of a primary specialty.
(c) The foundation, in consultation with the selection committee,
shall develop a process for outreach to potentially eligible
applicants.
(d) The office shall develop the guidelines described in
subdivision (a) only upon receipt of donations sufficient to cover
the costs of developing the guidelines.
128580. (a) The Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship
Account is hereby established within the Health Professions Education
Fund. The account shall consist of private moneys donated to the
program for deposit into the fund and any interest that accrues on
those moneys.
(b) Funds in the account shall be used to fund scholarships
pursuant to agreements made with recipients and as follows:
(1) Scholarships shall not exceed one hundred five thousand
dollars ($105,000) per recipient.
(2) Scholarships shall not exceed the amount of the educational
expenses incurred by the recipient.
(c) Funds placed in the account for purposes of this article
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for the
purposes of this article. Funds supporting the Steven M. Thompson
Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program established pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 128550) shall not be used for the
purposes of this article.
(d) The account shall be used to pay for the cost of administering
the program and for any other purpose authorized by this article.
The cost of administering the program, including promoting the
education of medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy in an
accredited school who agree to service in an eligible setting and
related administrative costs, shall not exceed 10 percent of the
total appropriation for the program.
(e) The office and the foundation shall manage the account
established by this section prudently in accordance with other
provisions of law.
(f) This article shall be implemented only to the extent that the
account contains sufficient funds as determined by the foundation.
128585. No General Fund moneys shall be used to implement this
article.
