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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Jennings

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Expand UNM Dental Residency Program

SB 264

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Related to

HB172 (Develop Dental Hygiene Programs)

Related to SB 83 (Dental Hygiene Programs)

Related to SB 85 (Expand NM Pre-Dental Clubs)

Related to SB 180 (Increase Dental Education Slots)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 264, with emergency clause, appropriates $250,000 from the general fund to the

Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico for expenditure in fiscal years 2006 and 2007

to expand a dental residency program to sites outside Bernalillo County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

Senate Bill 264 – Page

2

As of 2/7/06 the SFC substitute for SB 415 includes

$100,000 to increase the dental residency

program at UNM.

According to the Higher Education Department, anticipated future costs for the program expan-

sion are $500,000 to $600,000. Some revenues would be general by clinical activities and the

Graduation Medical Education (GME) fund allocated through the Medicare/Medicaid programs.

ENMU-Roswell requested $126,500 for the program expansion through HED’s Research, Public

Service, and Special Programs Request. The program is not recommended by HED for expan-

sion at this time.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Health Policy Commission (HPC),

this expansion of the UNM’s General Den-

tistry Residency Program was recommended and endorsed by the Governor’s Oral Health Coun-

cil and is based in part on recommendations of the 2003 Dental Education Summit report.

According to the Higher Education Department (HED),

New Mexico ranks 49th among states in

the number of dentists per 1,000 people; and nearly 1/3 of the 1,074 dentists licensed in New

Mexico have out-of-state addresses or are over the age of 65. In addition, there is a concentration

of dentists and dental hygienists in Bernalillo County and a shortage of dentists and dental hy-

gienists in rural areas. Thirty-three of New Mexico’s counties are designated as Federal Health

Professions Shortage areas.

HED notes that, for the last two years, the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell (ENMU-

Roswell) Division of Health and the University of New Mexico (UNM) Health Sciences Center

Administration and Dental Hygiene Program have worked to develop a distance education pro-

gram to create a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene in Roswell. There is currently a shortage

of dental hygienists in southeastern New Mexico; and in the near future there will also be a

shortage of dentists. At least five Roswell dentists plan to retire within the next five years.

According to the HED, this bill’s expansion of the Dental Residency Program will build upon the

existing relationship between ENMU-Roswell and UNM. The collaboration extends beyond the

two institutions to include the State of New Mexico Department of Health Rehabilitation Center

as well as local dentists and organizations. The residency program expansion would be a 1 plus 2

program. Students would take their first year of study at UNM and then transfer to Roswell. It is

anticipated that of the five residents currently in the program, two to three would continue for a

second year in Roswell.

HED adds that UNM's Division of Dental Services, created in 1999, offers a post-doctorate in

Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency. This program is partially funded by a

three-year federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant and provides a

concentrated experience for dentists beyond classes to practice public health dentistry and work

with rural, underserved populations. The program has resulted in attracting five general dentistry

residents to New Mexico, four of whom have stayed in the state, three of whom work in non-

profit clinics.

ML/nt