Buried within the budget proposal by the governor is an augmentation of general fund support for a program at UC medical schools called PRIME (Programs in Medical Education) which LAO describes as focused on health equity.
According to LAO, "some of the courses PRIME students are required to take... are focused on health equity matters, and PRIME students’ clinical experiences tend to be focused on underserved populations and communities. Beyond the standard four-year training program, a portion of PRIME students (as well as a portion of other medical school students) take additional coursework by pursuing a joint master’s degree requiring a fifth year of study (often in public health)."
Enrollments at the 6 UC med schools are shown below:
The state put some money into ramping up these programs early on in their history but it has generally not explicitly funded them since then (with one exception). In the governor's January budget - probably prompted by concerns about health equity raised during the coronavirus crisis - there is an added $12.9 million for expanding the PRIME programs. LAO, however, has grumbles about the way the funds are to be distributed and lack of an explicit connection (formula?) tying the money to actual enrollment growth. It wants a more detailed plan.
The governor's plan is to increase PRIME enrollment by 34% (although some of the growth is offset by a drop at UCLA) and to focus on aspects of health related to Native Americans and African Americans. Exactly why there should be a drop at UCLA is unclear.
It seems unlikely that the proposal originated in the governor's office or in the Dept. of Finance. More likely, it originated at UC and made its way from there into the budget proposal.
For more details, see https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2021/4389/UC-PRIME-022621.pdf
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