Directs the department of health to develop and implement a residency program initiative to service medically underserved areas; makes an appropriation therefor.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A645
SPONSOR: Hunter TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to developing and
implementing a residency program initiative to service medically under-
served areas; and making an appropriation therefor
PURPOSE:
This bill creates a residency initiative program that will benefit
physicians who are New York State residents. Currently, there are not
enough residency position openings available in New York and across the
country. This legislation provides for new residency opportunities.
Additionally, participating in this program will require physicians to
practice medicine in underserved areas of the state for five years after
the residency is completed.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Adds a new Section 2807-mm to the Public Health Law directing
the NYS Department of Health to develop, create and implement a residen-
cy program initiative to add approximately 50 additional residencies in
New York that will benefit New York physician residents. This section
also establishes the requirements for physician applicants and hospitals
that are interested in participating in the program.
Section 2. Appropriates $5 million to the Department of Health for the
purpose of creating the residency initiative program. The funding would
create an anticipated 50 new resident physician openings for this annual
appropriation.
Section 2. This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall have
become law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Across the state, physician shortages are making many communities
medically underserved. This is especially true in Upstate New York.
With many physicians retiring and practices scaling down, physician
coverage is only getting worse for these areas. It is estimated that
one-third of all physicians will retire within the next decade. This
decline will further exacerbate the shortage and leave many communities
at risk.
Federal policy has also contributed to the physician shortage. Medicare
funding for physician residents has been reduced and Graduated Medical
Education funding has been cut. In order to serve the growing number of
those reaching retirement age, the Association of American Medical
Colleges has stated that the number of residency training position must
be increased. In recent years, roughly a quarter of qualified doctors
were unable to find open resident positions.
Since all physicians must complete three or more years of residency
training after receiving their medical degree, a bottleneck has been
created that keeps qualified new doctors from advancing in their
careers. Many doctors are delayed in getting placed while their finan-
cial burdens from student debt continue to mount.
This legislation would address the physician residency shortage by open-
ing additional residency opportunities. Areas most in need of medical
service would be prioritized and doctors would be incentivized to meet
this need. New York would retain more doctors in the communities that
need them most while providing greater opportunities for these physi-
cians.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2014: A.9265 (Barclay)
2015-16: A.5298 (Barclay)
2017-18: A.3285 (Barclay)
2018: A.10435 (Hunter)
2019-20: A.2390 (Hunter)
2021-22 A3223 (Hunter)
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 180 days after becoming law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
645
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER, BARCLAY -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to developing and
implementing a residency program initiative to service medically
underserved areas; and making an appropriation therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 2807-mm to read as follows:
3 § 2807-mm. Resident program initiative to service medically under-
4 served areas. 1. The department shall develop and implement a residency
5 program initiative for physicians who agree to work in medically under-
6 served areas in New York state as designated by the commissioner as
7 having a shortage of physicians in certain areas. This initiative will
8 fund fifty residency positions.
9 2. The physician applicant must:
10 (a) complete a residency program initiative application, as developed
11 by the department; and
12 (b) have entered the national resident matching program and have
13 failed to match; and
14 (c) be a resident of New York state; and
15 (d) have graduated from a New York state accredited medical school and
16 have passed the United States medical licensing examination steps 1 and
17 2; or
18 (e) be certified by the education commission for foreign medical grad-
19 uates.
20 3. New York state accredited residency programs must complete a resi-
21 dency program participation application, as developed by the department.
22 4. In order for a New York state accredited residency program to be
23 approved it must be either a teaching hospital or have teaching hospital
24 oversight and be licensed by the department.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02608-01-3
A. 645 2
1 5. Residency positions funded under this program shall be awarded to
2 interested hospitals on a competitive basis pursuant to a request for
3 proposal or request for application process.
4 6. The department will match physician applicants with approved
5 medical residency programs.
6 7. Upon acceptance to an approved medical residency program the physi-
7 cian applicant must sign a contract with the state whereby the physician
8 applicant agrees to work in New York state in a medically underserved
9 area at the completion of his or her residency for a minimum of five
10 years. The location must be approved by the department and must accept
11 medicaid and medicare. The physician applicant shall be responsible to
12 repay the department for the cost of their residency should they either
13 fail to complete the residency or the subsequent service requirement.
14 The commissioner shall be given the power to waive or modify the repay-
15 ment requirement in cases where there is a compelling need or hardship.
16 § 2. The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or so much thereof
17 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of health
18 from any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to the credit
19 of the state purposes account not otherwise appropriated for the
20 purposes of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such sum shall be
21 payable on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers
22 certified or approved by the commissioner of health, or his duly desig-
23 nated representative in the manner provided by law.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
25 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
26 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
27 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
28 completed on or before such effective date.
