(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) “Designated institution” means either:

(A) A teaching hospital operated by other than a hospital authority, which hospital agrees to contract with the state to offer or continue to offer a residency or fellowship program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which program has at least one ACGME accredited residency program, excluding any stand-alone fellowship program, and which hospital operates a 24 hour, seven-day-per-week emergency room open to the public and which hospital files a semiannual statistical report consistent with those filed by other state funded tertiary, neonatal, obstetrical centers with the Department of Community Health; or

(B) A medical facility that has a certification number assigned by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to health care providers participating in the medicare and Georgia Medicaid programs and that agrees to contract with the state to offer or continue to offer a residency or fellowship program approved by the ACGME, which program has at least one ACGME accredited residency or fellowship program.

(1.1) “Fellow” means a physician receiving medical education and training at an ACGME accredited fellowship program through a teaching hospital operated by a hospital authority or designated institution.

(2) “Hospital authority” means a hospital authority operating a teaching hospital which offers a residency or fellowship program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

(3) “Resident” means a physician receiving medical education and training at an ACGME accredited residency program through a teaching hospital operated by a hospital authority or designated institution.

(b) The General Assembly finds that the major hospital authorities and designated institutions in this state provide a valuable service benefiting the entire state by operating teaching hospitals and medical facilities which provide necessary medical education and training for physicians; this service is provided through residency and fellowship programs offered by these teaching hospitals and medical facilities. By the provision of residency and fellowship programs operated by state teaching hospitals, the state has recognized its responsibility to fund the cost of training physicians; and it is the purpose of this Code section to recognize that the state has a similar responsibility when the medical education and training are provided by teaching hospitals operated by hospital authorities or by designated institutions.

(c) For each resident or fellow receiving medical education and training through a teaching hospital operated by a hospital authority or designated institution, the Department of Community Health shall pay no more than $10,000.00 per annum to the hospital authority or designated institution. Such payments shall be made based upon certifications by the hospital authorities or designated institutions to the Department of Community Health. The Department of Community Health is authorized to designate the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to promulgate rules and regulations specifying procedures for making the certifications provided for in this Code section and to establish a procedure for making payments to hospital authorities and designated institutions as provided in this Code section.

(d) The funds necessary to carry out this Code section shall derive from funds appropriated for such purpose to the Department of Community Health. In the event the funds appropriated by the General Assembly are insufficient to fund the full amount payable to hospital authorities or designated institutions under subsection (c) of this Code section, the amount otherwise payable thereunder shall be reduced pro rata in accordance with the funds actually appropriated for such purpose. The Department of Community Health shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Code section. No additional teaching hospitals or designated institutions shall be added until such funds have been made available for any additional teaching hospitals or designated institutions.

(e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to amend, modify, supersede, or repeal Chapter 10 of Title 49.