Day 22: State Cuts Mean Fewer Residency Slots in Texas
Throughout the month of August, The Texas Tribune is featuring 31 ways Texans' lives will change come Sept. 1, the date most bills passed by the Legislature — including the dramatically reduced budget — take effect. Check out our story calendar here.
Day 22: Lawmakers slash funding for residency programs in Texas, making it even more difficult for the state to meet its growing physician shortage.
The 2011 legislative session was devastating for graduate medical programs in Texas. Despite strong opposition from organizations like the Texas Academy of Family Physicians and the Texas Medical Association, lawmakers severely cut funding for some residency ...
Comments (8)
Lorrie Irby Jackson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Yeah, good work there Gov! *snark*
Texas Academy of Family Physicians via Texas Tribune on Facebook
This is a great article. Thanks for reporting on this issue during session and beyond.
Susan Strong via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Unbelievable!
Scott Chase via Texas Tribune on Facebook
At a time when preventive care is more needed than ever, cutting these programs for family practice doctors is almost insane.
V Marshall
I'm sure all the comments will start up blaming this on the Legislature, but when 7 newspapers in Texas did a joint poll of Texas residents before the Legislative session started, EVERY one of the seven had respondents saying that the entire gap should be closed by cuts and EVERY one of the seven had higher education as the single budget to cut. How can you blame the Texas state House for doing what its constituents wanted? Unfortunately in Texas you don't have the option of just taxing 2% of the population to provide all the services wanted by the people because you don't have an income tax. You know what percentage of residents want an income tax? Around 7%. The Texas legislature could look to valuing apartment complexes at market rate so that apartment dwellers are paying property taxes comparable to homeowners, but that is going to make housing much less affordable.
I am finding it very interesting to see how Texas works through its revenue problem because it doesn't have just a problem related to the housing bubble but a systemic problem. Texas cities have long solved middle-class flight problems by annexing the suburbs. What are they going to do as the middle class families who have flocked to Texas over the past decade because it had a lower cost of living start leaving for exactly that reason? The state cannot annex another state for its taxpayer base.
Jose R Fernandez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I guess they'll learn watching YouTube videos.
Jalapeno Schwartz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
they also cut programs for Nurse Practitioner programs in Texas, yes, part of the Texas Miracle!! Total bunch of crap!!
Martin Hyman via Texas Tribune on Facebook
You can't blame Gov Perry. He had to cut programs like this to open his big mouth and show off his bravado as a right wing budget balancing Gov. If necessary he would cut food programs for starving children rather than raise a single dime in taxes to the oil lobby.