UCR MEDICAL SCHOOL: Funding in state budget, lawmakers say

May 23, 2013

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Riverside's representatives in Sacramento said $15 million in ongoing funding for UC Riverside's new medical school is part of the final state budget awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.

STAFF WRITER

Published: May 23, 2013; 03:45 PM

Ongoing annual funding of $15 million has been placed in the state budget for the new UC Riverside Medical School, according to Riverside's representatives in Sacramento.

The line item for the funding passed the Assembly's Budget Subcommittee No. 2 late Wednesday, May 22, and the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Thursday morning, according to a press release issued Thursday afternoon by Sen. Richard Roth and Assemblyman Jose Medina, both D-Riverside.

Those moves mean the medical school funding will be in the final version of the budget going to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature, the release read.

“The Inland Southern California region continues to be identified as having the most severe shortage of primary care doctors in all of the United States,” Roth said in the release.

“This is a big step forward for the people of our region who have waited too long for the basic healthcare services they need.”

“Placing the UC Riverside Medical School into the budget is a critical step forward,” Medina said in the release. “We have waited far too long to ensure our region’s families have access to meet their healthcare needs. We are facing a crisis today and that will get much worse as the demand for healthcare professionals increases with the implementation of the national Affordable Care Act.”

The governor has previously declined to include state funding for the school, which is scheduled to open this fall.