UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED

Public Health 106: Health Policy

Policy Memorandum of Senate Bill 40 of healthcare work development

To: Name and title.

From:

Subject: Health care workforce development: California Medicine Scholars Program.

Date: Sunday, October 3rd, 2021.

The revised Senate Bill 40 aids to amend, and extend, existing law that facilitates the establishment of the healthcare workforce in rural and impacted areas of California, expanding existing programs such as the Health Professions Career Opportunity Program, the California Registered Nurse Education Program and the Steven M. Thompson Medical School Scholarship Program. This revision and expansion to existing law is a response to address the projected shortage of medical professionals in California, especially in poor and undeserving areas. Current projections indicate that by the turn of the decade in the year 2030, a severe shortage of medical professionals in affected areas would lead to over-saturation of hospitals with medical availability and insufficient medical care in rural areas, resulting in a higher rate of burden of disease from preventable conditions.

The revision aims to inaugurate a pilot program that would consist of four Regional Hubs of Health Care Opportunity (RHHO), with the objective of assisting and facilitating the education of future medical professionals and registered physicians, focusing on increasing the representation of minority groups who are often unrepresented in this professional field. This framework would consist of the California Medicine Scholars Program, a pipeline based on the extension of existing programs to elevate the advent of medical professionals in California’s struggling hotspots. Senate Bill 40 would require all selected RHHO groups to include the following as candidates to the California Medicine Scholars Program:

3) Community colleges.

1) 4-year university.

1) Non-profit organization.

3) Community-based organizations.

The additional funding allocated to the selected organisms would directly impact the level of educational opportunity available, and each RHHO will be mandated to select 50 California Medicine Scholars each year starting the year 2023 and culminating in the last year proposed by this bill, 2026. These scholars will be selected based on the criteria laid out in the complete and finalized bill, in accordance with the representation that the law is aimed towards. Latino, African American, Pacific Islander and Native Americans all remain mostly unaccounted across the medical field in California, and thus, they are prime candidates for the intent of this program, as research suggests that physicians from these ethnic origins are more likely to exercise their professions in areas that mirror their cultural background. The intent behind this part of the bill is to elevate the standard of equity found in the medical sector of California, marking more inclusion for an otherwise hugely unrepresented demographic.

The extension to Senate Bill 40 would serve as a breakthrough to jumpstart medical development in struggling areas within California, where availability of doctors is already scarce, and projected to worsen over time. The stipend granted to the selected medical recruits by the CMSP would serve as both an incentive and mechanism for medical students to remain in medical school and complete their credentials. Members who abide by the criteria of inclusivity may even seek employment in backgrounds that share their demographic, helping alleviate the incoming shortage of medical personnel in these affected areas. As policy implementation will be staggered in a cycle of three calendar years, it gives a wide timeframe to make amendments and correction if the need arises, or the scope of the program is deemed worthy of further expansion. Results from policy that is released in staggered patterns are easier to track, as a specific event can be pinpointed to explain unexpected behavior, or a flaw within the bill.

This type of program has already been proven to be effective by its predecessors; the initiatives that the CMSP is expanding and being built upon. For example, the Health Careers Opportunity Program, HCOP, is a national grant that helps people from needy backgrounds to pursue full careers in the medical field, achieving higher levels of retention and success by its awardees. Programs that offer stipends to medical students from disadvantageous backgrounds prove to be efficient as medical professionals later become a necessary service for public welfare and the promotion of health within their communities. Founding a new, more inclusive generation of medical professionals fixes the shortage of physician personnel in affected areas by the root, offering a proactive approach to the issue.

References

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