[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 899 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 899

Expressing support for a stable and sustainable funding source for the 
  Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2016

 Mr. Reichert (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, and 
Ms. Tsongas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for a stable and sustainable funding source for the 
  Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program.

Whereas Congress has established the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical 
        Education (THCGME) program, which is dedicated entirely to training 
        primary-care physicians and dentists in community-based settings, to 
        help fill a shortage of primary-care clinicians in the United States;
Whereas teaching health centers are leading innovative educational programming 
        dedicated to ensuring a sufficient supply and distribution of primary-
        care physicians, particularly in rural and underserved areas;
Whereas the THCGME program has grown from supporting 63 resident positions in 
        the first year, to more than 700 in the 2016-2017 academic year;
Whereas the programs receiving this support are training residents in the 
        specialties with the highest shortages nationally, including: family 
        medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics/
        gynecology, psychiatry, and dentistry;
Whereas teaching health centers are located primarily in federally qualified 
        health centers (FQHCs), rural health clinics, and tribal clinics, all of 
        which care for underserved communities and populations;
Whereas the size of THCGME remains modest, representing in fiscal year 2016 less 
        than 0.5 percent of the annual Federal outlay committed to training 
        physicians;
Whereas the THCGME program delivers value in physician training and encourages 
        team-based care that improves quality;
Whereas reports show the THCGME program is helping to meet the need of 
        increasing the number of physicians choosing to practice primary care, 
        to provide care to underserved populations, and to locate in rural and 
        underserved communities;
Whereas THCGME funding is unstable in its current form; and
Whereas Congress provided 2 years of bridge funding for the THCGME program in 
        section 221(b) of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 
        2015 (MACRA), which passed with overwhelming bipartisan margins in both 
        the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program 
should be protected and sustained.
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