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Molina Healthcare and Its Affiliates Donate $100,000 to the UCLA International Medical Graduates Program

Posted on: Monday, 7 August 2006, 15:00 CDT

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) today announced that it has donated $50,000 to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) International Medical Graduates Program and that Dr. J. Mario Molina has also donated $50,000 to the program through his donor-advised fund at Peninsula Community Foundation.

International medical graduates, or IMGs, are physicians who have graduated from medical schools outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada. UCLA's IMG pilot program helps IMG physicians compete for primary care residency training positions in United States teaching hospitals and also assists them in obtaining their medical license, with the goal of allowing them to work in underserved Hispanic and other minority communities upon the completion of their residency training.

According to recent data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, 20% of Californians, or nearly 6.9 million people, live in medically underserved areas without access to primary health care. Among Hispanics in California, the lack of access to care is even more acute, with some 3.8 million Hispanics living in these underserved areas. Several studies have documented that African American and Hispanic physicians are more likely to practice in such underserved communities. At present, Hispanics make up 31% of the state's population, yet represent only 4% of the state's physicians. The new IMG pilot program at UCLA will help close this gap.

The program, conceived and housed within the Department of Family Medicine of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, was established nearly a year ago to help IMGs prepare for the residency training programs that are required for licensure in the United States. Currently, six IMG physicians are enrolled. The IMG pre-residency preparation program provides training, educational materials, and a stipend, with the hope that enrollees will obtain residency positions and go on to become board certified primary care physicians and practice in underserved areas within the state. The pilot program is endorsed by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and funded solely through donations from contributors like Molina Healthcare.

"With the growing changes in demographics throughout California and the United States, it is important for patients to feel comfortable with their doctors," said Dr. J. Mario Molina, president and chief executive officer of Molina Healthcare, Inc. "At Molina, we understand that cultural competency and linguistics are an important aspect of healthcare. We are happy to contribute to the international medical graduates program because we know this program will produce bilingual doctors who will help meet healthcare needs in underserved communities."

"Molina Healthcare has been a long-time supporter of our community medicine programs, including our pipeline programs to interest more minority students, starting in high school, in careers in health care," said Patrick T. Dowling MD, MPH, Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at UCLA. "The David Geffen School of Medicine is extremely thankful for their generous donation. This program is unusual because it provides a monthly stipend for IMG physicians to help offset the cost of tuition, living expenses, and other costs associated with attaining their license to practice in the United States. If they make it, the students will graduate in 2007. Since there is no state money allocated for this program, the only reason it is up and running is because of the generous private donations of supporters like Molina Healthcare."

About Molina Healthcare, Inc.

Molina Healthcare, Inc. is a multi-state managed care organization that arranges for the delivery of healthcare services to persons eligible for Medicaid and other government-sponsored programs for low-income families and individuals. Molina Healthcare, Inc. currently operates health plans in California, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. Additional information about Molina Healthcare, Inc. can be viewed at www.molinahealthcare.com.

Source: Business Wire

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