BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2509

By: Lucio III

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The graduate medical education expansion program, which is administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, provides grants to medical schools and teaching hospitals to create and continue programs that establish first-year residency positions. However, only programs for training doctors of osteopathic medicine and doctors of medicine are currently eligible to receive a grant. Given the great need in Texas for podiatrists to keep up with the growth in demand for foot-related services created by aging, diabetes, and obesity, there have been calls to extend the eligibility for grants under the program to podiatric residency programs. These programs are already considered an approved graduate medical education program for the purpose of federal reimbursement to teaching hospitals. H.B. 2509 seeks to address this issue by including those programs in the coordinating board's graduate medical education expansion program.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2509 amends the Education Code to include in the definition of "graduate medical education program," for purposes of certain funds and state programs supporting graduate medical education, a nationally accredited post-doctor of podiatric medicine program that prepares podiatrists for independent practice in the specialty area of podiatry.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.