| 1 | 1 | | 85R13807 RMA-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Kolkhorst S.C.R. No. 34 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Graduate medical education (GME) is a vital |
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| 7 | 7 | | component of the nation's health system infrastructure, as it |
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| 8 | 8 | | enables physicians who have recently graduated from medical school |
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| 9 | 9 | | to continue their training through internship, residency, and |
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| 10 | 10 | | fellowship programs; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Medicare currently allocates funding for GME |
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| 12 | 12 | | nationwide, but payments vary significantly depending on the state; |
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| 13 | 13 | | for example, Medicare funds only 18 GME residents per 100,000 |
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| 14 | 14 | | people in Texas, while it funds 77 GME residents for the same |
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| 15 | 15 | | population in New York; moreover, such physicians in Texas receive |
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| 16 | 16 | | subsidies that are less than half of that of their New York |
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| 17 | 17 | | counterparts; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Instead of continuing with this unequal system, |
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| 19 | 19 | | Medicare should allocate funding for GME based on projected growth |
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| 20 | 20 | | in state population and on the individual health care needs of each |
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| 21 | 21 | | state; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, It is essential for the U.S. government to determine |
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| 23 | 23 | | how best to improve health care in our country using limited federal |
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| 24 | 24 | | dollars; to further that mission, Medicare should implement a new |
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| 25 | 25 | | formula that allows all states to receive more equitable funding |
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| 26 | 26 | | for graduate medical education; now, therefore, be it |
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| 27 | 27 | | RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 28 | 28 | | hereby urge the United States Congress to ensure the fair |
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| 29 | 29 | | allocation of Medicare funding for graduate medical education to |
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| 30 | 30 | | all states; and, be it further |
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| 31 | 31 | | RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies |
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| 32 | 32 | | of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the |
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| 33 | 33 | | president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 34 | 34 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 35 | 35 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 36 | 36 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 37 | 37 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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