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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Graduate medical education (GME) is a vital |
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component of the nation's health system infrastructure, as it |
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enables physicians who have recently graduated from medical school |
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to continue their training through internship, residency, and |
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fellowship programs; and |
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WHEREAS, Medicare currently allocates funding for GME |
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nationwide, but payments vary significantly depending on the state; |
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for example, Medicare funds only 18 GME residents per 100,000 |
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people in Texas, while it funds 77 GME residents for the same |
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population in New York; moreover, such physicians in Texas receive |
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subsidies that are less than half of that of their New York |
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counterparts; and |
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WHEREAS, Instead of continuing with this unequal system, |
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Medicare should allocate funding for GME based on projected growth |
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in state population and on the individual health care needs of each |
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state; and |
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WHEREAS, It is essential for the U.S. government to determine |
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how best to improve health care in our country using limited federal |
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dollars; to further that mission, Medicare should implement a new |
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formula that allows all states to receive more equitable funding |
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for graduate medical education; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby urge the United States Congress to ensure the fair |
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allocation of Medicare funding for graduate medical education to |
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all states; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies |
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of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the |
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president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |