Amended
IN
Assembly
April 25, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 09, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly Members Arambula and Garcia |
February 05, 2024 |
This bill would request at least 3 University of California medical
schools, commencing with students starting medical school in the 2027–28 academic year, to give, as specified,
admission preference to eligible applicants who speak one or more languages other than English that are underrepresented in the physician workforce and commonly spoken in California, as provided.
The bill would request the Regents of the University of California to develop and implement procedures for purposes of the bill’s provisions.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)According to the United States Census Bureau, nearly 44 percent of California’s households speak a language other than English.
(b)Nearly seven million Californians report speaking English “less than very well.”
(c)In an analysis using the most commonly spoken languages in California, researchers determined that the most underrepresented language groups in the physician workforce were Vietnamese,
Thai/Lao, Filipino/Tagalog, and Spanish. Spanish-speaking physicians were the most underrepresented language group in the physician workforce.
(d)Data shows that a medical provider’s ability to speak the same language as the patient increases trust and patient satisfaction while decreasing poor clinical outcomes due to miscommunication.
(e)It is critical to increase the number of physicians in California who can deliver health care services in a language other than English.
(a)Commencing with students starting medical school in the 2027–28 academic year, the University of California, for at least three campuses, is requested to give, among the other factors that the medical school considers when giving
preference to applicants for admission, admission preference to eligible applicants who speak one or more languages, other than English, that are underrepresented in the physician workforce and commonly spoken in California, including, but not limited to, any of the following languages:
(1)Spanish.
(2)Filipino/Tagalog.
(3)Thai/Lao.
(4)Vietnamese.
(5)Indigenous languages, including, but not limited to, languages associated with either of the following:
(A)A California Indian tribe on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission pursuant to Section 8013 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Mesoamerica.
(b)The Regents of the University of California
is requested to develop and implement procedures for purposes of this section.