California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA)

National projections estimate a deficit of up to 87,150 primary care doctors within the next decade. The United States is facing an imminent shortage of primary care physicians, a problem that continues to worsen as the workforce shrinks while the aging population of the country increases in size. Despite high demand for family medicine, pediatrics, and general internal medicine physicians, medical students are turning away from primary care practice at an increasing rate due to the extremely high cost of medical school programs whilst primary care salaries remain comparatively low. The financial imbalance, when combined with an already aging primary care workforce, maldistribution between rural and urban areas, and widespread burnout, has accelerated the problem of declining primary care availability. If no action is taken, the shortage will worsen as the aging general population grows by 42% by 2050, straining the healthcare system further. This bill proposes that University of California (public) medical schools adopt accelerated or reduced-tuition primary care programs that require campuses to accept an increasing percentage of primary-care track students each year, incentivizing medical students to meet primary care workforce needs. As the primary issue is financial, the bill proposes a reduction of the financial barriers that discourage students from pursuing primary care, connecting medical school tuition support to a structured service commitment requiring participants to practice in primary care at partner hospitals for a defined period after graduating. Overall, through increasing the quantity of primary care providers, this proposal aims to strengthen the long-term healthcare capacity of California.