Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico programs.

Existing law, the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, allows up to 30 licensed physicians and up to 30 licensed dentists from Mexico to practice medicine or dentistry in California for a period not to exceed 3 years, in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law requires the Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of California to provide oversight pursuant to these provisions. Existing law requires appropriate funding to be secured from nonprofit philanthropic entities before implementation of the pilot program may proceed. Existing law requires physicians participating in the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program to be enrolled in English as a second language classes, to have satisfactorily completed a 6-month orientation program, and to have satisfactorily completed a 6-month externship at the applicant's place of employment, among various other requirements. This bill would repeal the provisions regarding the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, and would instead establish two bifurcated programs, the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program and the Licensed Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program. Within these 2 programs, the bill would generally revise and recast certain requirements pertaining to the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, including deleting the above-described requirement that Mexican physicians participating in the program enroll in adult English as a second language classes. The bill would instead require those physicians to have satisfactorily completed the Test of English as a Foreign Language or the Occupational English Test, as specified. The bill would remove the requirement that the orientation program be 6 months, and would further require the orientation program to include electronic medical records systems utilized by federally qualified health centers and standards for medical chart notations. The bill would also delete the requirement that the physicians participate in a 6-month externship. The bill would further delete provisions requiring an evaluation of the pilot program to be undertaken with funds provided from philanthropic foundations, and would make various other related changes to the program. The bill would require the Dental Board of California to, notwithstanding existing requirements to provide specified federal taxpayer information, issue a 3-year nonrenewable permit to an applicant who has not provided an individual taxpayer identification number or social security number if the applicant meets specified conditions. Commencing January 1, 2025, the bill would authorize the Medical Board of California to issue a limited number of active licenses to eligible applicants to participate in the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program, as specified. Under the bill, each additional physician selected for the program would not be eligible to renew their 3-year license. The bill would require the federally qualified health centers employing physicians pursuant to the program to continue specified peer review protocols and procedures and to work with an approved medical school or an approved residency program, as provided. The bill would also require specified entities to be the points of contact involved in securing required documents, recruiting and vetting candidates, assisting candidates to meet all program requirements, selecting appropriate federally qualified health centers throughout California, ensuring compliance with program provisions, developing policy and clinical workshops, monitoring productivity and increased access to medical care, and assessing the necessity of policy and programmatic improvements. The bill would impose fees in connection with both programs, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute.