85R13807 RMA-D     By: Kolkhorst S.C.R. No. 34       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Graduate medical education (GME) is a vital   component of the nation's health system infrastructure, as it   enables physicians who have recently graduated from medical school   to continue their training through internship, residency, and   fellowship programs; and          WHEREAS, Medicare currently allocates funding for GME   nationwide, but payments vary significantly depending on the state;   for example, Medicare funds only 18 GME residents per 100,000   people in Texas, while it funds 77 GME residents for the same   population in New York; moreover, such physicians in Texas receive   subsidies that are less than half of that of their New York   counterparts; and          WHEREAS, Instead of continuing with this unequal system,   Medicare should allocate funding for GME based on projected growth   in state population and on the individual health care needs of each   state; and          WHEREAS, It is essential for the U.S. government to determine   how best to improve health care in our country using limited federal   dollars; to further that mission, Medicare should implement a new   formula that allows all states to receive more equitable funding   for graduate medical education; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby urge the United States Congress to ensure the fair   allocation of Medicare funding for graduate medical education to   all states; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies   of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the   president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.