By Gray H.B. No. 2953 76R2225 JRD-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to establishing a visiting physician program to provide 1-3 temporary relief to physicians practicing in rural areas. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 106, Health and Safety Code, is amended 1-6 by adding Subchapter G to read as follows: 1-7 SUBCHAPTER G. VISITING PHYSICIAN PROGRAM 1-8 Sec. 106.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-9 (1) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice 1-10 medicine in this state. 1-11 (2) "Primary care" means physician services in family 1-12 practice, general practice, general internal medicine, general 1-13 pediatrics, obstetrics, or gynecology. 1-14 (3) "Rural area" means: 1-15 (A) an area in a county with a population of 1-16 50,000 or less; or 1-17 (B) a relatively large, isolated, and sparsely 1-18 populated area in a county with a population of more than 50,000. 1-19 Sec. 106.202. VISITING PHYSICIAN PROGRAM; CONTRACTS WITH 1-20 PUBLIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS AND HEALTH SCIENCES CENTERS. (a) The 1-21 Center for Rural Health Initiatives shall establish a visiting 1-22 physician program to provide temporary relief to physicians who: 1-23 (1) provide primary care on site in a rural area of 1-24 this state for an average of 30 hours a week; and 2-1 (2) need to spend short periods of time away from 2-2 their practice to attend continuing medical education classes or 2-3 for other reasons. 2-4 (b) The center shall implement the program only through 2-5 contracts with one or more health sciences centers or medical 2-6 schools that are considered to be or that are affiliated with an 2-7 institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, 2-8 Education Code. The health sciences centers or medical schools 2-9 under the contracts shall provide for furnishing a visiting 2-10 physician who will provide primary care for persons in a rural area 2-11 as temporary relief for rural physicians described by Subsection 2-12 (a). 2-13 (c) A health sciences center or medical school that enters 2-14 into a contract with the center under this section must agree to 2-15 provide for furnishing a minimum of 1,600 hours of visiting primary 2-16 care under this subchapter during a calendar year. 2-17 Sec. 106.203. PAYMENT FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY VISITING 2-18 PHYSICIAN. (a) A visiting physician is provided under this 2-19 subchapter without cost to the rural physician who the visiting 2-20 physician relieves. 2-21 (b) Payment by or on behalf of patients for services 2-22 provided by a visiting physician under this subchapter shall be 2-23 obtained through the usual billing and collection procedures used 2-24 by the rural physician's office. 2-25 (c) Money received in payment for the services shall be 2-26 applied first toward the overhead expenses of operating the rural 2-27 physician's practice during the time that the rural physician is 3-1 away and the visiting physician is providing the services. Money 3-2 received in payment for the visiting physician's services that 3-3 exceeds the amount of the overhead expenses shall be paid to the 3-4 Center for Rural Health Initiatives to defray the cost of 3-5 administering this subchapter or to apply toward the cost of the 3-6 contract under which the visiting physician was provided. 3-7 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 3-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-12 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 3-13 passage, and it is so enacted.