SACTOBOY
08-02-2009, 08:51 PM
C and P of the original..hope this is informative.
Bill Would Increase Residency Slots by 15,000 (May 8, 2009)
Nicole V. Baptista
As Congress considers health care reform this week, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009 on May 5, 2009. If passed, the bill would combat current and projected physician workforce shortages by increasing the number of Medicare-funded residency training positions by 15,000.
According to the bill, two-thirds of the slots would be given to hospitals that apply for positions for new or expanded residency programs. The bill summary states that “preference will be given to hospitals that apply for primary care or general surgery slots, or slots that emphasize community-based training; further preference will be given to hospitals in States with fewer Medicare-sponsored residency slots than medical students, and to hospitals in states with low resident-to-population ratios.” The remaining one-third will be allocated proportionately to hospitals operating in excess of their caps that can also prove they are training at least 25% of their residents in primary care or general surgery.
The 15% increase in total positions would occur within two years of the bill’s passage. According to Senator Nelson, “Once you pass the law...[the slots] would be phased in—as much as the schools, the colleges could accommodate.”
In addition to increasing slots, if passed, the bill would allow unused positions to be redirected to other teaching hospitals, change current regulations to allow residents to train in non-hospital settings, and in the event of a teaching hospital closure, allow communities to continue training residents supported by Medicare.
Currently, the time residents spend training in non-hospital settings can be counted as long as the hospital pays “all or substantially all” of the training costs at that site and the resident spends his or her time in patient care activities. The bill would clarify the meaning of “all or substantially all” to allow hospitals to count patient care activities as long as the hospital continues to incur the costs of the resident’s stipends and fringe benefits during the time the resident spends training in the non-hospital setting.
“No health care reform effort will be complete or even adequate unless we address the shortage of doctors in this country,” bill co-sponsor Senator Schumer said. “If we are going to insure more Americans, we will certainly need more physicians to treat them. This legislation will provide a common-sense fix to the outdated cap on residency slots.” The 15,000-position increase would be the first positive move since the numbers were capped at 1996 levels with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
When asked why this program is important in the face of massive federal deficits, Senator Nelson stated, “Because we need doctors and we need doctors trained in the right disciplines, particularly primary care physicians. This is about having the health care that we need.”
In the House, a companion bill was introduced May 5, 2009, by Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL), and Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL).
Bill Would Increase Residency Slots by 15,000 (May 8, 2009)
Nicole V. Baptista
As Congress considers health care reform this week, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009 on May 5, 2009. If passed, the bill would combat current and projected physician workforce shortages by increasing the number of Medicare-funded residency training positions by 15,000.
According to the bill, two-thirds of the slots would be given to hospitals that apply for positions for new or expanded residency programs. The bill summary states that “preference will be given to hospitals that apply for primary care or general surgery slots, or slots that emphasize community-based training; further preference will be given to hospitals in States with fewer Medicare-sponsored residency slots than medical students, and to hospitals in states with low resident-to-population ratios.” The remaining one-third will be allocated proportionately to hospitals operating in excess of their caps that can also prove they are training at least 25% of their residents in primary care or general surgery.
The 15% increase in total positions would occur within two years of the bill’s passage. According to Senator Nelson, “Once you pass the law...[the slots] would be phased in—as much as the schools, the colleges could accommodate.”
In addition to increasing slots, if passed, the bill would allow unused positions to be redirected to other teaching hospitals, change current regulations to allow residents to train in non-hospital settings, and in the event of a teaching hospital closure, allow communities to continue training residents supported by Medicare.
Currently, the time residents spend training in non-hospital settings can be counted as long as the hospital pays “all or substantially all” of the training costs at that site and the resident spends his or her time in patient care activities. The bill would clarify the meaning of “all or substantially all” to allow hospitals to count patient care activities as long as the hospital continues to incur the costs of the resident’s stipends and fringe benefits during the time the resident spends training in the non-hospital setting.
“No health care reform effort will be complete or even adequate unless we address the shortage of doctors in this country,” bill co-sponsor Senator Schumer said. “If we are going to insure more Americans, we will certainly need more physicians to treat them. This legislation will provide a common-sense fix to the outdated cap on residency slots.” The 15,000-position increase would be the first positive move since the numbers were capped at 1996 levels with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
When asked why this program is important in the face of massive federal deficits, Senator Nelson stated, “Because we need doctors and we need doctors trained in the right disciplines, particularly primary care physicians. This is about having the health care that we need.”
In the House, a companion bill was introduced May 5, 2009, by Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL), and Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL).