Bill > HR6352

Introduced Session

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction and Graduate Medical Education Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to distribution of additional resident positions as they affect calculation of payments for direct graduate medical education (DME) costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), for each of FY2013-FY2017 (and each succeeding fiscal year if additional residency positions are available to distribute), to increase the otherwise applicable resident limit for each qualifying hospital. Directs the Secretary to determine the total number of additional residency positions available for distribution, in accordance with guidelines for allocating 33% to hospitals already operating over the resident limit, and generally setting the aggregate number of increases in the resident limit to 3,000 in each year. Specifies the process for distributing positions. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement procedures under which the amount of payments that a hospital would otherwise receive for indirect medical education (IME) costs for discharges occurring during a fiscal year is adjusted based on the reporting of measures and the performance of the hospital on measures of patient care priorities specified by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress and the National Health Care Workforce Commission on the graduate medical education (GME) payments, including both direct GME payments and IME payments, that hospitals receive under the Medicare program. Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the physician workforce, and (2) strategies for increasing the diversity of the health profession workforce.

Committee Categories

Howard Coble (R),  Tom Latham (R),  Jim McGovern (D),  Aaron Schock (R),  Allyson Schwartz (D),  Heath Shuler (D), 

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. (on 08/03/2012)

Official Document