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

SPONSOR Nava

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/9/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Family Medicine Rural Residency Programs

SB 489

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to

HB 221 (Expand Medical Residency Programs)Relates to

HB 289 (Rural NM Chronic

Medical Disease Treatment)

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 489 appropriates $300,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the Uni-

versity of New Mexico to fund family medicine rural residency programs in Las Cruces, Roswell

and Santa Fe.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300,000 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 489 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Department of Health (DOH), the federal government has designated all or part

of 31 New Mexico counties as Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas.

The Health Policy Commission (HPC) notes that

SB 489 expands an innovative program within

the Family Practice Department at the UNM School of Medicine that has had success in teaching

residents who ultimately practice in underserved areas of the state.

The HPC adds that New Mexico has a serious physician shortage in all counties except Berna-

lillo and Los Alamos, and even in Bernalillo County there is a shortage of physicians in selected

specialties. The Physician Supply in New Mexico study published in 2003 by the HPC showed

that the state has 169 physicians per 100,000 population compared with a Health Resources Ser-

vices Administration (HRSA) recommended number of 240 per 100,000.

According to the Higher Education Department (HED),

The UNM Health Science Center coor-

dinates the Family Medicine Residency Program (FMRP) which has centers at the following lo-

cations:

in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM/HSC);

in Las Cruces at the Memorial Medical Center Family Practice;

in Roswell at Eastern New Mexico Family Practice Residency Program; and

in Santa Fe at St. Vincent Hospital for the UNM-Santa Fe Rural Track Program.

HED notes that New Mexico is a rural, ethnically diverse state. Over 60 percent of the popula-

tion resides in rural areas and the majority of the population is composed of ethnic minorities (43

percent Hispanic, 10 percent Native American and 2 percent African-American). UNM/HSC’s

family medicine rural residency programs aim to provide high-quality primary care while giving

residents experience practicing rural medicine. The FMRP places a special emphasis on educa-

tion, service and research aimed at meeting the unique needs of New Mexico’s diverse popula-

tions.

This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by UNM/HSC to the HED for re-

view and was not included the HED’s funding recommendation for FY07.

ML/yr