Doctor Shortage Bill

A Demo­c­ra­tic law­maker is propos­ing a pack­age of bills to address an expected doc­tor short­age as Cal­i­for­nia pre­pares to insure mil­lions of new patients under fed­eral health care reforms. Sen. Ed Her­nan­dez of West Cov­ina said Wednes­day that his three bills would expand ser­vices that can be pro­vided by nurse prac­ti­tion­ers, optometrists and phar­ma­cists. Her­nan­dez, who is an optometrist, said Cal­i­for­nia has a short­age of doc­tors who serve rural areas and inner cities.