HBA-DMH H.B. 2421 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2421
By: Hawley
Public Health
7/17/2001
Enrolled




BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In rural areas, health care practitioner recruitment and retention rates
are significantly lower than those in urban and suburban areas, creating a
shortage of physicians.  Other states have successfully implemented
programs to recruit students from rural areas to practice the health care
profession in rural areas.  House Bill 2421 establishes a rural physician
recruitment program under the Center for Rural Health Initiatives to
increase the number of physicians practicing in medically underserved rural
areas. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2421 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the Center for
Rural Health Initiatives (center) to establish a process in consultation
with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for selecting a Texas
medical school to recruit students from rural communities and encourage
them to return to rural communities to practice medicine.  The  Texas
medical school selected by the center is required to: 

_encourage high school and college students from rural communities to
pursue a career in medicine; 

_develop a screening process to identify rural students most likely to
pursue a career in medicine; 

_establish a rural medicine curriculum, a mentoring program for rural
students, and a rural practice incentive program; and 

_provide rural students with information about financial aid resources
available for postsecondary education. 

The bill authorizes the center to accept gifts, grants, and donations to
support the rural physician recruitment program. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.