20250SB__117998AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-18 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-09 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Menjivar (Coauthor: Assembly Member Alvarez)</caml:AuthorText>"?> (Coauthor: Senator Durazo) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alvarez, Carrillo, Mark González, and Celeste Rodriguez) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Menjivar <caml:Contribution>COAUTHOR</caml:Contribution><caml:House>ASSEMBLY</caml:House><caml:Name>Alvarez</caml:Name></caml:Legislator>"?> COAUTHOR SENATE Durazo COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Alvarez COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Carrillo COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Mark González COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Celeste Rodriguez

An act to add

Article 6.5 (commencing with

Section 2130) to

Chapter of Division of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts. healing arts Doctors from El Salvador Program. Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine.

Existing law establishes within the act the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program, which authorizes the board to issue a limited number of nonrenewable 3-year physician’s and surgeon’s licenses to physicians from Mexico who are licensed, certified, or recertified and in good standing in their medical specialty in Mexico and who meet specified other requirements. This bill would establish the Doctors from El Salvador Program for the purpose of permitting licensed physicians from El Salvador to practice medicine in California for up to years.

The bill would require the program to be developed in consultation with representatives from a community health clinic in California that has an established partnership and framework with specified universities in El Salvador and would require the program to, among other things, recruit and vet candidates and assist candidates for the program in El Salvador to meet all program requirements.

The bill would require the board to issue a nonrenewable 3-year physician and surgeon’s license to a person who is licensed, certified, or recertified, and in good standing in the applicable medical specialty in El Salvador and who meets other requirements of the program. This bill would require a licensee in the program to practice only in the nonprofit community health center that offered the licensee employment and the corresponding hospital.

The bill would require a federally qualified health center employing a licensee in the program to take certain actions, including creating and maintaining medical quality assurance protocols for those licensees. The bill would also require the federally qualified health centers to work with a California medical school or residency program to conduct secondary reviews of randomly selected patient encounters with each of those licensees every months, as specified.

The bill would also require the faculty from the medical school or residency program and federally qualified health center chief medical officers to jointly develop quality assurance seminars to be attended by the licensees.

This bill would require an evaluation of the program to be conducted months after the program has commenced by one of specified universities in El Salvador and an unspecified medical school in southern California, except that if the evaluation does not begin within months of commencement of the program, the bill would require the Director of Consumer Affairs to select an independent consultant to conduct the evaluation. The bill would require progress reports to be provided to the Legislature on achievable time intervals beginning in the 2nd year of implementation of the program.

The bill would require the board to coordinate with the community health center, as specified, to ensure that the number of program participants that are issued a license does not exceed a certain number of licensees, based on the year in which the applicant applies. The bill would establish various fees to be deposited in the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California or the CURES Fund, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute. MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Article 6.5 (commencing with

Section 2130) is added to

Chapter of Division of the Business and Professions Code , to read: 6.5. Doctors from El Salvador Program 2130. For purposes of this article: (a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Committee” means the program administration committee established pursuant to

Section 2130.2.</xhtml:p>"?> (a) “Board” means the Medical Board of California. (b) “Licensee” means a person licensed under the program. (c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Primary administrator” means the Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)</xhtml:p>"?> (c) “Program” means the Doctors from El Salvador Program established pursuant to this article. 2130.1.

The Doctors from El Salvador Program is hereby established for the purpose of permitting licensed physicians from El Salvador to practice medicine, including, but not limited to, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry, in California for up to three years. <caml:Num>2130.2.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_91D1C244-3DAB-428D-BA22-09BA8C99C159"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The program administration committee is hereby established.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The committee shall be composed of the following members:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Two individuals designated by the primary administrator.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Two individuals designated by the Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Two individuals designated by the Universidad de El Salvador.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The Clínica Monseñor Oscar A.

Romero shall serve as the primary administrator and lead representative of the committee.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection><caml:LawSection id="id_2CEC1DC4-33CD-44F4-B66D-5A14B0957AFC"><caml:Num>2130.3.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_8AC51611-5F13-41B8-936E-0525F0F2C911"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>The committee shall do all of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Develop an interview examination for each specialty area.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Develop an orientation program that meets all of the following requirements:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>It is modeled after the orientation program developed for the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program established pursuant to former

Section 853.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>It includes all of the following components:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Medical protocol.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Community clinic history and operations.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(C)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Medical administration.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(D)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Hospital operations and protocol.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(E)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Medical ethics.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(F)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The California medical delivery systems.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(G)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Health maintenance organizations and managed care practices.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(H)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Medication documentation and reconciliation.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(I)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The electronic medical records system utilized by federally qualified health centers.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(J)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Standards for medical record documentation to support medical decisionmaking and quality care.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>It is approved by the board.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Recruit and vet candidates for the program.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Act as the point of contact for candidates for the program and assist those candidates with meeting the requirements for the program.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(e)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Select appropriate federally qualified health centers in California.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(f)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Ensure compliance with program provisions.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(g)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Develop policy and clinical workshops.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(h)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Monitor productivity and increased access to medical care.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Assess the necessity of policy or programmatic improvements.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection>"?> 2130.2.

The program shall be developed in consultation with representatives from a community health clinic in California that has an established partnership and framework with the Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador and Universidad de El Salvador, and shall include the following: (

a) Coordinating entities for securing required documents. (

b) Recruiting and vetting candidates. (

c) Assisting candidates for the program in El Salvador to meet all program requirements. (

d) Selecting appropriate federally qualified health centers throughout California. (

e) Ensuring compliance with program provisions. (

f) Developing policy and clinical workshops. (

g) Monitoring productivity and increased access to medical care. (

h) Assessing the necessity of policy and programmatic improvements. 2130.3. The board shall submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice of all applicants for a physician’s and surgeon’s license under the program to determine whether the applicant has a criminal conviction record in this state or in any other jurisdiction, including foreign countries, pursuant to

Section 2042. The Department of Justice shall provide a state- and federal-level response in accordance with subdivision (

p) of

Section of the Penal Code for the board to determine whether the applicant is subject to denial of licensure under the provisions of Division 1.5 (commencing with

Section 475) and

Section 2221. 2130.4. Subject to

Section 2130.5, the board shall issue a nonrenewable three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license to a person who meets all of the following requirements: (

a) The person is licensed, certified, or recertified, and in good standing in the applicable medical specialty in El Salvador. This certification or recertification shall be performed, as appropriate, by the Consejo Nacional de las Especialidades Médicas or the Ministry of Health in El Salvador. (

b) Before leaving El Salvador, the person has completed all of the following:

(1) Passed the board review course with a score equivalent to that registered by United States applicants when passing a board review course for the United States certification examination in each of the physician’s specialty areas and passed an interview examination the entities developed in consultation with the community health clinic referenced in

Section 2130.2 for each specialty area. A family practitioner who includes obstetrics and gynecology in their practice shall not perform deliveries in California unless they have performed live birth deliveries, as required by United States standards, confirmed by written documentation by the supervising department chair, hospital administrator, or hospital chief medical officer. Each obstetrician and gynecologist from El Salvador shall be a fellow in good standing of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

(2) Passed an interview examination created in consultation with the community health clinic referenced in

Section 2130.2 for each of the person’s specialty areas.

(3) Satisfactorily completed an orientation program developed in consultation with the community health clinic referenced in

Section 2130.2.

(4) Provided written documentation to the board that they have scored at least percent on the Test of English as a Foreign Language or at least on the Occupational English Test. 2130.5. (

a) Subject to subdivision (b), notwithstanding subdivisions (

a) to (d), inclusive, of

Section 30, the board shall issue a license to an applicant who meets the requirements of

Section 2130.3 even if the applicant has not provided an individual taxpayer identification number or social security number to the board. (

b) A licensee who has not provided an individual taxpayer identification number or social security number to the board shall not engage in the practice of medicine unless all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The licensee sought an appropriate three-year visa and accompanying social security number from the federal government within days of licensure under the program.

(2) The licensee provided the board their social security number within days of issuance of the number by the federal government.

(3) The board notified the licensee that it has determined that the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) have been met. (

c) The board shall promptly provide the notification described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (

b) to the licensee once the board has made the determination described in that subparagraph. 2130.6. If a licensee is a family practitioner who includes obstetrics and gynecology in their practice, they shall not perform deliveries in California unless they have written documentation from a supervising department chair, hospital administrator, or hospital chief medical officer that they have performed live birth deliveries in accordance with United States standards.

Each license who practices as an obstetrician and gynecologist shall be a fellow in good standing of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2130.7. A licensee shall complete continuing education units each year. The board may randomly audit a licensee to ensure compliance with this

section and may issue a citation and administrative fine against a licensee who fails to comply with this section. 2130.8. (

a) A federally qualified health center employing a licensee shall continue the peer review protocols and procedures as required by the federal government. (

b) The federally qualified health centers shall work with a California medical school approved by the board pursuant to

Section or a residency program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to conduct secondary reviews of randomly selected patient encounters with each licensee per six-month period, and the reviews shall be transmitted to the approved medical school or medical institution with an approved residency program in PDF format. (

c) The secondary reviews shall be undertaken every six months of each year for the three years that the licensee is employed by a federally qualified health center. (

d) The faculty reviewers in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology from the California medical school approved by the board pursuant to

Section or the residency program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education shall provide feedback to the federally qualified health centers of the findings of their secondary reviews. (

e) The faculty and federally qualified health center chief medical officers shall jointly develop no less than two quality assurance seminars for all licensees to attend during the six months of secondary reviews conducted. The purpose of the approved medical school or medical institution with an approved residency program secondary peer reviews shall be to provide feedback on compliance with medical standards, protocols, and procedures required by the federal government and assessed by the monthly or quarterly peer reviews conducted by federally qualified health centers.

The associated costs for the secondary reviews and quality assurance seminars shall be the responsibility of the federally qualified health centers on a pro rata basis. 2130.9. (

a) A licensee shall practice only in the nonprofit community health center that offered the licensee employment and the corresponding hospital. (

b) A federally qualified health center employing a licensee shall do all of the following:

(1) Apply peer review protocols and procedures required by federal law to each licensee.

(2) Create and maintain medical quality assurance protocols for licensees.

(3) Obtain and maintain accreditation by the Joint Commission, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, or the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, as applicable.

(4) Provide all applicable employment benefits, salary, and policies to licensees as are provided to the center’s other employees, including, but not limited to, malpractice insurance coverage. 2130.10. The board shall coordinate with the community health clinic referenced in

Section 2130.2 to ensure that the number of program participants that are issued a current and active license does not exceed the following: (

a) Between January 1, 2028 and January 1, 2032, no more than participants. An applicant shall submit an application to the board between January 1, 2027, and June 1, 2027, to be admitted to the cohort commencing on January 1, 2028. (

b) Between January 1, 2032, and January 1, 2036, no more than participants. An applicants shall submit application to the board between January 1, 2031, and June 1, 2031. (

c) Between January 1, 2036, and January 1, 2040, no more than participants. An applicant shall submit an application to the board between January 1, 2035, and June 1, 2035. (

d) Between January 1, 2040, and January 1, 2044, no more than participants. An applicant shall submit an application to the board between January 1, 2039, and June 1, 2039. (

e) Between January 1, 2044, and January 1, 2048, no more than participants. An applicant shall submit an applicant to the board between January 1, 2043, and June 1, 2043. 2130.11. (

a) A license issued pursuant to the program shall be deemed to be a license in good standing pursuant to the provisions of this

chapter for the purpose of participation in and reimbursement from all federal, state, and local health programs, including, but not limited to, the Medicare Program, the fee-for-service and managed care delivery systems of the Medi-Cal program, and private insurance. (

b) A licensee shall not be denied credentials by a health plan because the licensee is a participant in the program and did not receive their medical education and training in the United States. 2130.12. (

a) The application and processing fee shall be the amount specified in subdivision (

b) of

Section 2435. (

b) The initial license fee shall be one and one-half times the amount specified in subdivision (

c) of

Section 2435. (

c) The fee for the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) shall be three times the annual fee specified under subdivision (

a) of

Section 208. (

d) The fee for the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program shall be one and one-half times the amount specified in subdivision (

a) of

Section 2436.5. (

e) The fees required by this

section shall be deposited into the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California, except that the fee described in subdivision (

c) shall be deposited into the CURES Fund. (

f) Any unencumbered funds collected by the board pursuant to former

Section shall be deposited into the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California. 2130.13. (

a) Beginning months after the program has commenced, an evaluation of the program shall be conducted by a medical school in southern California and one of the following:

(1) The Universidad of El Salvador.

(2) Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador.

(3) A foreign medical school approved by the board. (

b) The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, the following matters:

(1) Quality of care provided by licensees under this program.

(2) Adaptability of these practitioners to California dental standards.

(3) Impact on working and administrative environments in nonprofit community health centers and impact on interpersonal relations with medical licensed counterparts in health centers.

(4) Response and approval by patients.

(5) Impact on cultural and linguistic services.

(6) Increases in medical encounters provided by participating practitioners to limited-English-speaking patient populations and increases in the number of limited-English-speaking patients seeking health care services from nonprofit community health centers.

(7) Recommendations on whether the program should be continued, expanded, altered, or terminated. (

c) If the evaluation required in subdivision (

a) does not begin within months after the program has commenced, the evaluation may be performed by an independent consultant selected by the Director of Consumer Affairs. (

d) Progress reports on the matters specified in subdivision (

b) shall be provided to the Legislature on achievable time intervals beginning in the second year of implementation of the program. (

e) Costs for administering the program shall be secured from philanthropic entities. (

f) Program applicants shall be responsible for working with the governments of El Salvador and the United States to obtain the necessary three-year visa required for program participation.

SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of

Section of

Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique and immediate need for physicians in California that have the cultural competency, language fluency, and requisite expertise to treat the large Latino patient population.