State-by-state analysis of mandates to medical schools to produce primary care physicians

The Foundation's Generalist Provider Research Initiative was designed to support a series of research projects to identify, analyze, and assess the opportunities and constraints that determine the current generalist/specialist mix and distribution that affect various efforts to generate change.This project is a study that will focus on the actions taken by state legislatures to hold their medical schools accountable for producing more primary care practitioners. The first part of the study will quantify and classify the various policies states have chosen, e.g., setting targets, requiring curriculum changes, setting up commissions to make recommendations and recommend changes, changing reimbursement systems, targeted dollars to primary care programs, and scholarship and loan programs. Of special interest will be those policies which set up targeted numbers of primary care practitioners medical schools must produce. The laws in the 10 states that have acted in this area will be analyzed and classified according to their level of coerciveness. The politics of the enactment of these laws will also be examined in a series of telephone interviews in six states. Also interviewed will be key actors in four states which considered but did not pass mandate legislation. The collection and classification of state actions and the interviews of successful and unsuccessful states in enacting mandate legislation will be compiled in two brief summary pieces. The remainder of the study will focus on implementation efforts of six states' mandates and of three additional innovative programs. Case studies and visits will be made to measure their activities. A report will be prepared summarizing the findings and will be presented to audiences of state policy makers.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $114,235.00

Awarded on: 6/22/1995

Time frame: 7/1/1995 - 8/31/1998

Grant Number: 26562