Minnesota Session Laws - 2000, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 494-H.F.No. 3642 
                  An act relating to health; modifying provisions for 
                  application for and distribution of medical education 
                  funds; amending Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, 
                  section 62J.692, subdivisions 1, 3, and 4. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        62J.692, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
        section, the following definitions apply: 
           (a) "Accredited clinical training" means the clinical 
        training provided by a medical education program that is 
        accredited through an organization recognized by the department 
        of education or, the health care financing administration as the 
        official accrediting body for that program, or another national 
        body who reviews the accrediting organizations for multiple 
        disciplines and whose standards for recognizing accrediting 
        organizations are reviewed and approved by the commissioner of 
        health in consultation with the medical education and research 
        advisory committee. 
           (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of health. 
           (c) "Clinical medical education program" means the 
        accredited clinical training of physicians (medical students and 
        residents), doctor of pharmacy practitioners, doctors of 
        chiropractic, dentists, advanced practice nurses (clinical nurse 
        specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse 
        practitioners, and certified nurse midwives), and physician 
        assistants. 
           (d) "Sponsoring institution" means a hospital, school, or 
        consortium located in Minnesota that sponsors and maintains 
        primary organizational and financial responsibility for a 
        clinical medical education program in Minnesota and which is 
        accountable to the accrediting body. 
           (e) "Teaching institution" means a hospital, medical 
        center, clinic, or other organization that conducts a clinical 
        medical education program in Minnesota. 
           (f) "Trainee" means a student or resident involved in a 
        clinical medical education program.  
           (g) "Eligible trainee FTEs" means the number of trainees, 
        as measured by full-time equivalent counts, that are at training 
        sites located in Minnesota with a medical assistance provider 
        number where training occurs in either an inpatient or 
        ambulatory patient care setting and where the training is 
        funded, in part, by patient care revenues. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        62J.692, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] (a) A clinical medical 
        education program conducted in Minnesota by a teaching 
        institution is eligible for funds under subdivision 4 if the 
        program: 
           (1) is funded, in part, by patient care revenues; 
           (2) occurs in patient care settings that face increased 
        financial pressure as a result of competition with nonteaching 
        patient care entities; and 
           (3) emphasizes primary care or specialties that are in 
        undersupply in Minnesota. 
           (b) Applications must be submitted to the commissioner by a 
        sponsoring institution on behalf of an eligible clinical medical 
        education program and must be received by September 30 October 
        31 of each year for distribution in the following year.  An 
        application for funds must contain the following information: 
           (1) the official name and address of the sponsoring 
        institution and the official name and site address of the 
        clinical medical education programs on whose behalf the 
        sponsoring institution is applying; 
           (2) the name, title, and business address of those persons 
        responsible for administering the funds; 
           (3) for each clinical medical education program for which 
        funds are being sought; the type and specialty orientation of 
        trainees in the program; the name, site address, and medical 
        assistance provider number of each training site used in the 
        program; the total number of trainees at each training site; and 
        the total number of eligible trainee FTEs at each site; and 
           (4) audited clinical training costs per trainee for each 
        clinical medical education program where available or estimates 
        of clinical training costs based on audited financial data; 
           (5) a description of current sources of funding for 
        clinical medical education costs, including a description and 
        dollar amount of all state and federal financial support, 
        including Medicare direct and indirect payments; 
           (6) other revenue received for the purposes of clinical 
        training; and 
           (7) other supporting information the commissioner deems 
        necessary to determine program eligibility based on the criteria 
        in paragraph (a) and to ensure the equitable distribution of 
        funds.  
           (c) An application must include the information specified 
        in clauses (1) to (3) for each clinical medical education 
        program on an annual basis for three consecutive years.  After 
        that time, an application must include the information specified 
        in clauses (1) to (3) in the first year of each biennium:  
           (1) audited clinical training costs per trainee for each 
        clinical medical education program when available or estimates 
        of clinical training costs based on audited financial data; 
           (2) a description of current sources of funding for 
        clinical medical education costs, including a description and 
        dollar amount of all state and federal financial support, 
        including Medicare direct and indirect payments; and 
           (3) other revenue received for the purposes of clinical 
        training.  
           (d) An applicant that does not provide information 
        requested by the commissioner shall not be eligible for funds 
        for the current funding cycle. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        62J.692, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.] (a) The commissioner 
        shall annually distribute medical education funds to all 
        qualifying applicants based on the following criteria:  
           (1) total medical education funds available for 
        distribution; 
           (2) total number of eligible trainee FTEs in each clinical 
        medical education program; and 
           (3) the statewide average cost per trainee as determined by 
        the application information provided in the first year of the 
        biennium, by type of trainee, in each clinical medical education 
        program.  
           (b) Funds distributed shall not be used to displace current 
        funding appropriations from federal or state sources.  
           (c) Funds shall be distributed to the sponsoring 
        institutions indicating the amount to be distributed to each of 
        the sponsor's clinical medical education programs based on the 
        criteria in this subdivision and in accordance with the 
        commissioner's approval letter.  Each clinical medical education 
        program must distribute funds to the training sites as specified 
        in the commissioner's approval letter.  Sponsoring institutions, 
        which are accredited through an organization recognized by the 
        department of education or the health care financing 
        administration, may contract directly with training sites to 
        provide clinical training.  To ensure the quality of clinical 
        training, those accredited sponsoring institutions must: 
           (1) develop contracts specifying the terms, expectations, 
        and outcomes of the clinical training conducted at sites; and 
           (2) take necessary action if the contract requirements are 
        not met.  Action may include the withholding of payments under 
        this section or the removal of students from the site.  
           (d) Any funds not distributed in accordance with the 
        commissioner's approval letter must be returned to the medical 
        education and research fund within 30 days of receiving notice 
        from the commissioner.  The commissioner shall distribute 
        returned funds to the appropriate training sites in accordance 
        with the commissioner's approval letter.  
           Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor May 19, 2000 
           Signed by the governor May 30, 2000, 2:16 p.m.