HOUSE MEMORIAL 64

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson and Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO CONVENE A PHYSICAL THERAPY WORKFORCE INCENTIVES STUDY GROUP TO INVESTIGATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH NEW MEXICO'S WORKFORCE INCENTIVES, INCLUDING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE, ARE PROVIDING ADEQUATE INCENTIVES TO PHYSICAL THERAPISTS AND PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANTS TO LOCATE OR REMAIN IN THE STATE.

     WHEREAS, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are an essential part of the health care system, providing care that restores patients to full functioning for greater, fuller participation in life activities; and

     WHEREAS, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants may be found in clinical settings, in rehabilitation centers and in patients' homes, in each setting playing an essential role in rehabilitation; and

     WHEREAS, according to the aging and long-term services department, from 2000 to 2030, New Mexico's population aged sixty years and older is projected to increase seventy percent; and

     WHEREAS, by 2030, New Mexico will rank third in the nation in percentage of population aged sixty years and older; and

     WHEREAS, as the population of New Mexicans ages, the demand for physical therapy services to maintain and restore full functioning will be even greater; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has the sixth-lowest rate among the states of licensed physical therapists, with approximately sixty-nine per one hundred thousand New Mexicans, while the national average is approximately eighty-seven physical therapists per one hundred thousand people; and

     WHEREAS, despite the value of physical therapy services, physical therapists' and physical therapist assistants' earning potential is quite low in proportion to the debts they incur for their physical therapy education; and

     WHEREAS, compared to other health care practitioners, physical therapists have the largest student debt compared to their earning potential; and

     WHEREAS, becoming a physical therapist entails seven years of study, including earning a bachelor's degree and doctor of physical therapy degree; and

     WHEREAS, according to a recent survey of New Mexico physical therapists, a recent graduate of a physical therapy educational program has incurred a debt, combining student debt with other forms of debt such as credit cards and other loans, that may be as much as two hundred ninety-seven thousand dollars ($297,000); and

     WHEREAS, a recent survey of New Mexico physical therapist assistants reports that the average physical therapist assistant graduates with approximately seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000) in student debt; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature created the rural health care practitioner tax credit to provide an incentive to health care providers to offer their badly needed services in rural, underserved areas of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the rural health care practitioner tax credit is not available to physical therapists or physical therapist assistants, thus depriving physical therapists and physical therapist assistants of this tax relief and worsening the lack of physical therapy services in rural, underserved areas of the state; and

     WHEREAS, health care workforce incentives programs such as the New Mexico health service corps and national health service corps, which may provide scholarships or loan-for-service assistance to health professionals who make service commitments, are not available to physical therapists or physical therapist assistants; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico health professional loan repayment program, created in 1995 to benefit designated health professional shortage areas by creating incentives for physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and other health professionals to serve in these communities, does not adequately offset the high debt loads that physical therapy providers have when they graduate from accredited physical therapy programs and begin practicing;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of higher education be requested to convene a physical therapy workforce incentives study group to investigate the extent to which New Mexico's workforce incentives, including health professional loan repayment assistance, are providing adequate incentives to physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to locate or remain in the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of higher education invite to join the physical therapy workforce incentives study group representatives from the physical therapy board, the New Mexico chapter of the American physical therapy association, the department of health's office of primary care and rural health and others with expertise in workforce development, public finance and health care delivery; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the physical therapy workforce incentives study group be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee and to the legislative finance committee by October 1, 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the chair and vice chair of the legislative health and human services committee, the chair and vice chair of the legislative finance committee, the secretary of higher education, the secretary of health, the chair of the physical therapy board and the president of the board of directors of the New Mexico chapter of the American physical therapy association.

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