1997 Minnesota Statutes

     62J.69 Medical education and research trust fund. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  For purposes of this 
 section, the following definitions apply: 

    (a) "Medical education" means the accredited clinical 
 training of physicians (medical students and residents), doctor 
 of pharmacy practitioners, dentists, advanced practice nurses 
 (clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse 
 anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse 
 midwives), and physician assistants. 

    (b) "Clinical training" means accredited training that is 
 funded and was historically funded in part by inpatient care 
 revenues and that occurs in both inpatient and ambulatory care 
 settings. 

    (c) "Trainee" means students involved in an accredited 
 clinical training program for medical education as defined in 
 paragraph (a). 

    (d) "Health care research" means approved clinical, 
 outcomes, and health services investigations that are funded by 
 patient out-of-pocket expenses or a third-party payer. 

    (e) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of health. 

    (f) "Teaching institutions" means any hospital, medical 
 center, clinic, or other organization that currently sponsors or 
 conducts accredited medical education programs or clinical 
 research in Minnesota. 

    Subd. 2.    Allocation and funding for medical education 
 and research.  (a) The commissioner may establish a trust fund 
 for the purposes of funding medical education and research 
 activities in the state of Minnesota. 

    (b) By January 1, 1997, the commissioner may appoint an 
 advisory committee to provide advice and oversight on the 
 distribution of funds from the medical education and research 
 trust fund.  If a committee is appointed, the commissioner 
 shall:  (1) consider the interest of all stakeholders when 
 selecting committee members; (2) select members that represent 
 both urban and rural interest; and (3) select members that 
 include ambulatory care as well as inpatient perspectives.  The 
 commissioner shall appoint to the advisory committee 
 representatives of the following groups:  medical researchers, 
 public and private academic medical centers, managed care 
 organizations, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, 
 commercial carriers, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota 
 Nurses Association, medical product manufacturers, employers, 
 and other relevant stakeholders, including consumers.  The 
 advisory committee is governed by section 15.059, for membership 
 terms and removal of members and will sunset on June 30, 1999. 

    (c) Eligible applicants for funds are accredited medical 
 education teaching institutions, consortia, and programs 
 operating in Minnesota.  Applications must be submitted by the 
 sponsoring institution on behalf of the teaching program, and 
 must be received by September 30 of each year for distribution 
 in January of the following year.  An application for funds must 
 include the following: 

    (1) the official name and address of the sponsoring 
 institution and the official name and address of the facility or 
 program on whose behalf the institution is applying for funding; 

    (2) the name, title, and business address of those persons 
 responsible for administering the funds; 

    (3) the total number, type, and specialty orientation of 
 eligible Minnesota-based trainees in each accredited medical 
 education program for which funds are being sought; 

    (4) audited clinical training costs per trainee for each 
 medical education program; 

    (5) a description of current sources of funding for medical 
 education costs including a description and dollar amount of all 
 state and federal financial support; 

    (6) other revenue received for the purposes of clinical 
 training; 

    (7) a statement identifying unfunded costs; and 

    (8) other supporting information the commissioner, with 
 advice from the advisory committee, determines is necessary for 
 the equitable distribution of funds. 

    (d) The commissioner shall distribute medical education 
 funds to all qualifying applicants based on the following basic 
 criteria:  (1) total medical education funds available; (2) 
 total eligible trainees in each eligible education program; and 
 (3) the statewide average cost per trainee, by type of trainee, 
 in each medical education program.  Funds distributed shall not 
 be used to displace current funding appropriations from federal 
 or state sources.  Funds shall be distributed to the sponsoring 
 institutions indicating the amount to be paid to each of the 
 sponsor's medical education programs based on the criteria in 
 this paragraph.  Sponsoring institutions which receive funds 
 from the trust fund must distribute approved funds to the 
 medical education program according to the commissioner's 
 approval letter.  Further, programs must distribute funds among 
 the sites of training based on the percentage of total program 
 training performed at each site. 

    (e) Medical education programs receiving funds from the 
 trust fund must submit annual cost and program reports through 
 the sponsoring institution based on criteria established by the 
 commissioner.  The reports must include:  

    (1) the total number of eligible trainees in the program; 

    (2) the programs and residencies funded, the amounts of 
 trust fund payments to each program, and within each program, 
 the percentage distributed to each training site; 

    (3) the average cost per trainee and a detailed breakdown 
 of the components of those costs; 

    (4) other state or federal appropriations received for the 
 purposes of clinical training; 

    (5) other revenue received for the purposes of clinical 
 training; and 

    (6) other information the commissioner, with advice from 
 the advisory committee, deems appropriate to evaluate the 
 effectiveness of the use of funds for clinical training.  

    The commissioner, with advice from the advisory committee, 
 will provide an annual summary report to the legislature on 
 program implementation due February 15 of each year. 

    (f) The commissioner is authorized to distribute funds made 
 available through: 

    (1) voluntary contributions by employers or other entities; 

    (2) allocations for the department of human services to 
 support medical education and research; and 

    (3) other sources as identified and deemed appropriate by 
 the legislature for inclusion in the trust fund. 

    (g) The advisory committee shall continue to study and make 
 recommendations on:  

    (1) the funding of medical research consistent with work 
 currently mandated by the legislature and under way at the 
 department of health; and 

    (2) the costs and benefits associated with medical 
 education and research. 

    Subd. 3.    Medical assistance and general assistance 
 service.  The commissioner of health, in consultation with the 
 medical education and research costs advisory committee, shall 
 develop a system to recognize those teaching programs which 
 serve higher numbers or high proportions of public program 
 recipients and shall report to the legislative commission on 
 health care access by January 15, 1998, on an allocation formula 
 to implement this system. 

    HIST: 1996 c 451 art 4 s 1; 1997 c 203 art 2 s 2,3; 1997 c 205 
 s 18