Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 1511 requires the Texas Department of Health, in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, to establish procedures and formulas for the allocation of Medicaid funds used to support graduate medical education and requires the department to emphasize graduate medical education in primary care specialties when allocating these funds. It also requires the department to use a specific formula to reimburse teaching hospitals for resident physician training costs attributable to Medicaid patients. The formula includes a measure of graduate medical education costs and, after state fiscal year 1998, gives greater weight to the number of primary care residents trained by a teaching hospital. The act sets forth a phase-in schedule by which the formula is to be implemented.

In addition, House Bill 1511 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to administer a program, to be funded by appropriations, grants, and other sources, to support appropriate graduate medical education programs. To be eligible to receive funds under the program, an entity is required to incur the cost of facility supervision and education or the stipend costs of resident physicians.