Cal. BPC § 2125 — California Code / Code bpc / Division 2 / Chapter 5 / Article 6 / Section 2125
Section 2125
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Board” means the Medical Board of California.

(2) “Program” means the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program.

(b) (1) The Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program is hereby created.

(2) The board shall approve physician candidates from Mexico for program participation.

(c) (1) This program extends the physician component of the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, as established in former Section 853, which authorized up to 30 licensed physicians specializing in family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology from Mexico to practice medicine in California for a period not to exceed three years.

(2) The program shall also maintain an alternate list of program participants.

(d) The board shall issue a nonrenewable three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license to each licensed physician from Mexico who meets the criteria set forth in this section.

(e) Each physician from Mexico, to be eligible to participate in this program, shall comply with all of the following:

(1) Be licensed, certified or recertified, and in good standing in their medical specialty in Mexico. This certification or recertification shall be performed, as appropriate, by the Consejo Mexicano de Ginecología y Obstetricia, A.C., the Consejo Mexicano de Certificación en Medicina Familiar, A.C., the Consejo Mexicano de Medicina Interna, A.C., the Consejo Mexicano de Certificación en Pediatría, A.C., or the Consejo Mexicano de Psiquiatría, A.C.

(2) 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, as defined by this section, 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 11105 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.

(3) Before leaving Mexico, have completed all of the following requirements:

(A) Passed an interview examination developed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) for each specialty area. Each family practitioner who includes obstetrics and gynecology in their practice and shall not perform deliveries in California unless they have performed 50 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 Mexico shall be a fellow in good standing of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

(B) (i) Satisfactorily completed an orientation program approved by the board in connection with the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, as established in former Section 853, and that includes medical protocol, community clinic history and operations, medical administration, hospital operations and protocol, medical ethics, the California medical delivery system, health maintenance organizations and managed care practices, medication documentation and reconciliation, the electronic medical records system utilized by federally qualified health centers, and standards for medical record documentation to support medical decisionmaking and quality care. This orientation program may be changed by a committee of at least five chief medical officers at federally qualified health centers employing program licensees to ensure that the orientation program contains the requisite subject matter and meets appropriate California law and medical standards where applicable.

(ii) Satisfactorily completed the Test of English as a Foreign Language by scoring a minimum of 85 percent or the Occupational English Test with a minimum score of 350, and provided written documentation of their completion to the board.

(C) Representatives from California and the UNAM in Mexico that executed and implemented the provisions of the former Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program shall be the points of contact involved in securing required documents, recruiting and vetting candidates, assisting candidates for this program in Mexico 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.

(4) Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, and after having received their nonrenewable three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license, each licensee shall be required to obtain continuing education pursuant to Section 2190. Each physician shall obtain 25 continuing education units per year for three years of program participation, which shall be subject to random audits by the board to ensure compliance. The board may issue a citation and administrative fine against a licensee who fails to comply with the requirements of this paragraph.

(5) The federally qualified health centers employing physicians from Mexico shall continue the peer review protocols and procedures as required by the federal government. The federally qualified health centers shall work with a California medical school approved by the board pursuant to Section 2084 or a residency program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to conduct 10 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. The secondary reviews shall be undertaken every six months of each year for the three years that the physicians from Mexico are employed by federally qualified health centers. 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 2084 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. The faculty and federally qualified health center chief medical officers shall jointly develop no less than two quality assurance (QA) seminars for all physicians from Mexico 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 QA seminars shall be the responsibility of the federally qualified health centers on a pro rata basis.

(6) The federally qualified health centers employing physicians in the program shall be required to have medical quality assurance protocols and be accredited by The Joint Commission, National Committee for Quality Assurance, or Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

(7) Participating hospitals shall have the authority to establish criteria necessary to allow individuals participating in this program to be granted hospital privileges in their facilities, taking into consideration the need and concerns for access to patient populations served by federally qualified health centers and attending doctors from Mexico, especially in rural areas that do not have hospitals staffed to provide deliveries of newborns.

(8) A licensee shall practice only in the nonprofit community health center that offered the licensee employment and the corresponding hospital. This three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license shall be deemed to be a license in good standing pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of participation and reimbursement in all federal, state, and local health programs. These programs shall include the Medicare Program, the fee-for-service and managed care delivery systems of the Medi-Cal program, and private insurance. A physician from Mexico shall not be denied credentials by a health plan because the physician is a participant in this state program and did not receive their medical education and training in the United States. The nonrenewable three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license issued pursuant to this program shall be referred to as a Physician’s and Surgeon’s from Mexico License and shall not include any additional notations beyond the current numerical identifiers that the board applies.

(f) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, of Section 30, the board shall issue a nonrenewable three-year physician’s and surgeon’s license pursuant to this section to an applicant who has not provided an individual taxpayer identification number or social security number if the board staff determines the applicant is otherwise eligible for a license only under the program pursuant to this section, subject to the following conditions:

(A) The applicant shall immediately seek both an appropriate three-year visa and the accompanying social security number from the United States government within 14 days of being issued a medical license under this section.

(B) The applicant shall immediately provide to the board a social security number obtained in accordance with subparagraph (A) within 10 days of the federal government issuing the social security card related to the issued visa.

(C) The applicant shall not engage in the practice of medicine pursuant to this section until the board determines that the conditions in subparagraphs (A) and (B) have been met.

(2) The board, if it determines that an applicant has met the conditions in paragraph (1), shall notify the applicant that the applicant may engage in the practice of medicine under the license in accordance with this section.

(g) (1) (A) Between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2029, the board shall coordinate with the representatives described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) to ensure that no more than 155 program participants have a current and active license at the same time.

(B) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), no more than 30 of the 155 licenses may be issued to physicians whose primary area of practice is psychiatry.

(C) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), an applicant shall submit an application to the board between October 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, except that the board may accept up to 15 applications after December 31, 2025, and before January 1, 2028.

(2) (A) Between January 1, 2029, and January 1, 2033, the board shall coordinate with the representatives described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) to ensure that no more than 195 program participants have a current and active license at the same time.

(B) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), no more than 40 of the 195 licenses may be issued to physicians whose primary area of practice is psychiatry.

(C) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), an applicant shall submit an application to the board between October 1, 2029, and December 31, 2029, except that the board may accept up to 19 applications after December 31, 2029, and before January 1, 2032.

(3) (A) Between January 1, 2033, and January 1, 2037, the board shall coordinate with the representatives described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) to ensure that no more than 225 program participants have a current and active license at the same time.

(B) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), no more than 40 of the 225 licenses may be issued to physicians whose primary area of practice is psychiatry.

(C) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), an applicant shall submit an application to the board between October 1, 2033, and December 31, 2033, except that the board may accept up to 22 applications after December 31, 2033, and before January 1, 2036.

(4) (A) Between January 1, 2037, and January 1, 2041, the board shall coordinate with the representatives described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) to ensure that no more than 255 program participants have a current and active license at the same time.

(B) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), no more than 40 of the 255 licenses may be issued to physicians whose primary area of practice is psychiatry.

(C) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), an applicant shall submit an application to the board between October 1, 2037, and December 31, 2037, except that the board may accept up to 25 applications after December 31, 2037, and before January 1, 2040.

(5) (A) Between January 1, 2041, and January 1, 2045, the board shall coordinate with the representatives described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) to ensure that no more than 275 program participants have a current and active license at the same time.

(B) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), no more than 40 of the 275 licenses may be issued to physicians whose primary area of practice is psychiatry.

(C) During the time period described in subparagraph (A), an applicant shall submit an application to the board between October 1, 2041, and December 31, 2041, except that the board may accept up to 27 applications after December 31, 2041, and before January 1, 2044.

(6) A physician’s eligibility pursuant to this subdivision is subject to the physician complying with all of the requirements set forth in this section.

(h) All applicable employment benefits, salary, and policies provided by nonprofit community health centers to their current employees shall be provided to medical practitioners from Mexico participating in this program. This shall include nonprofit community health centers providing malpractice insurance coverage.

(i) Each program applicant shall be responsible for working with the governments of Mexico and the United States in order to obtain the necessary three-year visa required for program participation.