BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 7|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 7
Author: Pan (D)
Introduced:3/19/15
Vote: 21
SUBJECT: Medical residency programs
SOURCE: California Academy of Family Physicians
California Medical Association
DIGEST: This resolution urges the Congress and the President of
the United States to renew funding for the Health Resources and
Services Administration's Teaching Health Center and Primary
Care Residency Expansion Graduate Medical Education Programs,
and to lift the freeze on residency positions funded by Medicare
to expand physician supply and improve access to health care.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1.According to a 2014 report by the California Healthcare
Foundation, although California has more than 105,000 licensed
physicians, only 71,000 are actively involved in providing
patient care.
2.Federal funding levels for residency training programs have
been frozen since 1997, while California's population has
increased by more than 10% since that time.
SJR 7
Page 2
3.Medicare's rigid payment formulas for Graduate Medical
Education do not allow for the innovation needed to improve
medical education to produce physicians with the appropriate
training needed to meet the nation's current and future health
care needs.
4.Many primary care physicians, including those who have
graduated from California medical schools, want to train in
California, but are forced to leave the state because of the
shortage in training slots at residency programs. California
has been able to address only a minimal portion of primary
care residency programs' funding shortfall with state funds.
5.Increasing funding for primary care medical residency training
programs is a critical step in addressing the physician
shortage problem and improving access to medical care.
This resolution urges the Congress and the President of the
United States to renew funding for the Health Resources and
Services Administration's Teaching Health Center and Primary
Care Residency Expansion Graduate Medical Education Programs
that are set to expire this year; to lift the freeze on
residency positions funded by Medicare to expand physician
supply and improve access to care; and to encourage the
development of primary care physician training programs in
ambulatory, community, and medically underserved sites through
new funding methodologies and incentives.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified3/24/15)
California Academy of Family Physicians (co-source)
California Medical Association (co-source)
SJR 7
Page 3
OPPOSITION: (Verified3/24/15)
None received
Prepared by:Karen Chow / SFA / (916) 651-1520
3/25/15 17:37:58
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