Del. Roger Manno (D-19) filed HB 1188, a bill to help current healthcare professionals and professionals in training afford their education in return for their commitment to work for a public not for profit hospital in Maryland. This bill is based in part on suggestions made by HCM's own Alfred Jordan! Please click here for more details.

1. CONCEPT OVERVIEW: This bill would provide a program that allows medical professionals, and medical professionals in training an incentive to stay in MD by having a large percentage of their tuition paid for by the state in exchange for working for a public or not for profit hospital. For doctors, who work for a state, federal, or not for profit hospital for six years once through medical or nursing school, they are then entitled to 60% of their education expense paid for by the state. Medical professionals such as nurses and nurse practitioners would only need to stay in the state for four years to qualify for the 60% reimbursement. For each of the next four years, for all medical professionals, tuition and education expenses would be extinguished at a rate of 10% per year, thus enabling debt to be eliminated after ten years for doctors and eight years for other medical professionals.

2. POSTURE: HB1166

3. CONCEPT / BILL HISTORY: The idea comes from Al Jordan with Transparency LLC. The idea was also mentioned as a solution for Maryland’s doctor shortage by a Governor appointed Task Force. Pennsylvania’s House passed a similar bill in 2007 (HB1093).

4. ARGUMENT(S) FOR BILL:

1) One of the best ways for Maryland to retain its doctors, and keep them working for the public. Will prevent Maryland from having a continuing shortage of physicians and doctors in our hospitals.

2) A lack of primary care physicians increases waiting times and forces many to use emergency rooms for primary care. This practice greatly decreases the quality of care for Marylanders and increases the cost of healthcare.

3) When we began drafting this bill, the American Academy of Family Physicians had just written an article detailing Maryland’s crisis. Although we have the second highest number of physicians per capita in the country, forty percent are non-practicing and take teaching, researching, and administrative positions. Thus, “the state has 178 clinical full-time physicians delivering care for every 100,000 residents, 16 percent below the national average of 212.”

4) These shortages exist in both primary care and specialty fields, therefore, we need to help all doctors to thrive in the state.

5) The report suggested “The state also should "develop programs that encourage more residents who are training in Maryland to remain in state as clinical practitioners," the report says. Other recommendations call for increasing the number of residency slots and starting a loan forgiveness program that draws physicians to regions in need.” Therefore, this bill just codifies the recommendations of a report that said we need more physicians in the state.