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California Reps. Jim Costa (CA-21) and Adam Gray (CA-13), along with Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), introduced legislation aiming to help curb the physician shortage in underserved areas.

The Central Valley has, for decades, experienced a shortage of physicians stemming from a number of reasons from education barriers to economic obstacles. Worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Joaquin Valley saw the lowest supply of physicians in the state — a ratio of 47 doctors per 100,000 residents.

The Expanding Medical Education Act would prioritize assistance to minority-serving areas and rural and underserved communities, aiming to establish schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine where there are none.

“The shortage of doctors in the San Joaquin Valley and across rural America has been a serious issue for far too long, and we must continue to address it,” Costa said in a virtual press briefing Tuesday. “My legislation will help build a medical school in the Valley and strengthen our healthcare system. Training and retaining local doctors are key to tackling this crisis and ensuring people access to quality healthcare.”

The act would move to strengthen the production of home-grown medical professionals while at the same time potentially attracting students from both in and outside the Valley. It would also open eligibility to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) like Fresno State.

Bond funds could be used for anything from planning and construction to accreditation, hiring, recruitment and more. Fresno State and UC Merced have experienced success with their San Joaquin Valley PRIME+ BS/MD program, building off of existing local training programs that train medical residents at Community Regional Medical Center.

“Expanding opportunities for students of color in medical fields is an essential public health priority,” Padilla said Tuesday. “By creating more pathways at minority-serving institutions for diverse groups to enter the health care workforce, the Expanding Medical Education Act would help improve access to culturally competent health care providers and address critical workforce shortages.”