BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 7| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 **** END ****