Graduate medical education capacity: report., the official text

An act to add and repeal Article 6.1 (commencing with Section 2127) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to health workforce development.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information in the Health and Welfare Agency and requires the department to perform specified functions relating to, among other things, health policy and planning, health professions development, and health facility data.
This bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to discuss graduate medical education capacity in California, with a focus on access to residency positions. The bill would require the workgroup to be composed of interested stakeholders, as specified. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Medical Board of California, to prepare and submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2028, that includes, among other information, recommendations for increasing residency capacity in California, improving geographic and specialty distribution, and reducing barriers to entry, including for international medical graduates. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Article 6.1 (commencing with Section 2127) is added to Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
6.1.
Graduate Medical Education2127.
(a) On or before January 1, 2028, the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) shall convene a workgroup to discuss graduate medical education capacity in California, with a focus on access to residency positions.
(b) The workgroup established pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be composed of interested stakeholders, which may include, but need not be limited to, representatives of the following:
(1) The Medical Board of California.
(2) The Osteopathic Medical Board of California.
(3) Accredited medical schools located in California.
(4) Teaching hospitals and health systems operating residency programs in California.
(5) Professional organizations representing physicians and surgeons in California.
(6) Organizations representing medical students, interns, and residents.
(7) Organizations representing international medical graduates.
(8) Consumer and patient advocacy organizations.
(c) Following the completion of the workgroup discussions held pursuant to subdivision (a), HCAI shall, in consultation with the Medical Board of California, prepare and submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature that includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
(1) An assessment of the current number, geographic distribution, and specialty distribution of residency positions in California.
(2) An analysis of the gap between the number of medical school graduates seeking residency positions and the number of available residency slots, including both in-state graduates and applicants from outside the state.
(3) Identification of the primary barriers to expanding residency positions, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Federal funding limitations.
(B) State and institutional financing constraints.
(C) Regulatory or accreditation requirements.
(D) Infrastructure and faculty capacity limitations.
(4) An evaluation of how residency placement patterns influence physician practice location, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
(5) An analysis of barriers specific to international medical graduates.
(6) An assessment of the extent to which California loses medical graduates to other states for residency training and the likelihood of those individuals returning to practice in California.
(7) Identification of best practices and policy approaches from other states or countries that have successfully expanded residency capacity or improved access for international medical graduates.
(8) Recommendations for increasing residency capacity in California, improving geographic and specialty distribution, and reducing barriers to entry, including for international medical graduates.
(9) Consideration of a proposal to allow medical graduates who have not completed a residency program to practice medicine under supervision and the feasibility and advisability of enacting such a proposal as an alternative to postgraduate training requirements for full licensure.
(d) HCAI shall submit the report required by subdivision (c) in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code no later than July 1, 2028.

2128.
This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.