Rationalize Graduate Medical Education Funding

Since 1997, CMS worked with the state of Utah on a project that pays Medicare direct graduate medical education (GME) funds ordinarily received by the state's hospitals to the state of Utah Medical Education Council. These GME funds were then distributed to training sites and programs according to the Council's research on workforce needs. The Council's goals are to ensure that Utah's clinical training programs are producing the number and types of health professionals needed in the state and to stabilize and ensure the continuation of residency positions and programs. A regional planning method that surveys the population's health professional needs is intended to result in a more equitable distribution of resources.