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Lawmakers have convened in Salem, contemplating ways to trim spending. One idea among many? Reduce pay to teaching hospitals for medical residencies and fellowships.
The education programs give medical school graduates hands-on experience before they get their license, and the idea to dial back state support is not widely beloved.
In early November—when the projected state budget shortfall looked bleaker than it did as of Tuesday—the Oregon Health Authority listed the possible $29 million graduate medical education cut among many others in a report to help the Legislature understand the impacts of different budget reductions lawmakers might need to make. The idea was to help them prepare for a range of fiscal scenarios.
The $29 million figure includes matching federal funds that would be foregone, and is just a fraction of the public money that flows to Oregon’s graduate medical education programs.
In a statement to WW, the OHA said it did not actually welcome the idea of trimming spending in this area, saying it would disincentivize hospitals from training new doctors.
“Oregon needs to train and support its health care workforce to ensure people throughout our state can receive quality health care,” an OHA spokesperson said. “However, if reduced revenues require the Oregon Legislature to rebalance the state budget, Oregon will be forced to make some difficult financial decisions.”
Meanwhile, Oregon Health & Science University, which trains the overwhelming majority of the state’s 1,000-plus residents and fellows, used its monthly press event in January to argue the cuts were a bad idea. An OHSU spokesperson told WW early this week the cuts remain under consideration in Salem.
OHSU leaders say the lost revenue could compel them to eliminate 27 graduate medical education slots in the coming fiscal year—about 10% of an incoming class.
Their argument is basically this: A doctor shortage undermines health care nationwide, and medical residency programs are the bottleneck. Plus, says Dr. Joyce Hollander-Rodriguez, OHSU’s associate dean of graduate education, physicians who study in Oregon tend to stay in Oregon.
