Medical Board Changes Licensing Fees for Physicians
[Posted 04/20/09]

Physician licensing and renewal fees assessed by the Medical Board of California will increase by $3, from $805 to $808, effective July 1. The increase is the result of a $22 licensing fee decrease associated with the termination of the Diversion Program and a new $25 licensing fee increase to fund the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program.

Prior to its termination, the medical board’s Diversion Program had been funded by a $22 surcharge on physicians’ licensing fees. Although the diversion program ended on June 30, 2008, the medical board postponed the effective date of the associated licensing fee reduction to July 2009. In August, CMA objected to the delay, arguing that medical board was violating state law by continuing to collect this surcharge to support a nonexistent program. In response to CMA’s concerns, the medical board has now agreed to refund “diversion surcharges” collected between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, in the form of a licensing fee credit. The credit will be applied at physicians’ next renewal application.

The $22 licensing fee reduction resulting from the closure of the Diversion Program will be offset by a new $25 licensing fee increase, which will be used to fund the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment program. The loan repayment program provides newly licensed physicians with medical school loan repayment grants of up to $105,000 in exchange for three-year commitments to serve in medically underserved areas of the state. The $25 fee increase will be incorporated into the total renewal fee paid by any physician (including retired physicians) whose license expires on or after April 30, 2009.

Click here to read more about the $22.00 licensing fee decrease.

Click here to read more about the $25.00 licensing fee increase.

Contact: Yvonne Choong, 916/551-2884 or ychoong@cmanet.org.