SB 130: Health; medical education funding and the service cancelable loan program; expand

Senate Bill 130

By: Senators Hodges of the 3rd, Still of the 48th, Watson of the 1st, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd and Hickman of the 4th

AS PASSED

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, so as to expand medical education funding and the service cancelable loan program; to revise definitions; to provide for medical education funding to certain medical organizations facilities; to provide for a physician in certain residency or fellowship programs to be eligible for the service cancelable loan program; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended by revising Code Section 31-7-95, relating to funding of medical education provided by hospital authorities and designated teaching hospitals, as follows:

"31-7-95.

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

(1) 'Designated teaching hospital' institution' means either:

(A) 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 teaching hospital institution.

(b) The General Assembly finds that the major hospital authorities and designated teaching hospitals 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 teaching hospitals institutions.

(c) For each resident or fellow receiving medical education and training through a teaching hospital operated by a hospital authority or designated teaching hospital institution, the Department of Community Health shall pay no more than $10,000.00 per annum to the hospital authority or designated teaching hospital institution. Such payments shall be made based upon certifications by the hospital authorities or designated teaching hospitals 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 teaching hospitals 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 teaching hospitals 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 will 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."

SECTION 2.

Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 31-34-2, relating to purpose and intent of article, as follows:

"31-34-2.

It is the purpose of this article to increase the number of physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses in underserved rural areas of Georgia by making loans to physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses who have completed their medical or health care education, to physicians in residency or fellowship programs, and to dental students and allowing such loans to be repaid by such physicians, dentists, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, resident physicians, fellowship physicians, and dental students agreeing to practice medicine or provide health care services in such rural areas and by making grants to hospitals and, as determined by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce, other health care entities, local governments, and civic organizations in underserved rural areas of Georgia that agree to provide matching funds to the grant, with the intent to enhance recruitment efforts in bringing physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses to such areas. It is the intent of the General Assembly that if funds are available to the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to make loans, grants, or scholarships under this article or under other applicable state law, the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce shall give priority to loans and scholarships under Part 6 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 and to loans under Code Section 31-34-4."

SECTION 3.

Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 31-34-4, relating to loan applicant qualifications and rules and regulations, as follows: "(a)(1) A physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse who receives a loan under the program provided for in this article shall be a citizen or national of the United States licensed to practice his or her health care profession within the State of Georgia at the time the loan is made, and shall be a graduate of an accredited graduate medical education program or other applicable accredited health care education program located in the United States which has received accreditation or provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association or such other applicable accreditation for other health care education programs, as determined by the board.

(2) A resident physician or fellowship physician who receives a loan under the program provided for in this article shall be a citizen or national of the United States and shall be a resident physician or fellowship physician in an ACGME accredited program. (3) A dental student who receives a loan under the program provided for in this article shall be a citizen or national of the United States and shall be actively enrolled as a fourth-year student in an accredited dental education program located in the United States."

SECTION 4.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.