MN Stat § 62J.692 (2021)
2021 Minnesota Statutes|Chapters 59A - 79A — Insurance|Chapter 62J — Health Care Cost Containment|Section 62J.692 — Medical Education.

62J.692 MEDICAL EDUCATION. Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (b) "Accredited clinical training" means the clinical training provided by a medical education program that is accredited through an organization recognized by the Department of Education, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or another national body who reviews the accrediting organizations for multiple disciplines and whose standards for recognizing accrediting organizations are reviewed and approved by the commissioner of health. (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of health. (d) "Clinical medical education program" means the accredited clinical training of physicians (medical students and residents), doctor of pharmacy practitioners, doctors of chiropractic, dentists, advanced practice nurses (clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives), physician assistants, dental therapists and advanced dental therapists, psychologists, clinical social workers, community paramedics, and community health workers. (e) "Sponsoring institution" means a hospital, school, or consortium located in Minnesota that sponsors and maintains primary organizational and financial responsibility for a clinical medical education program in Minnesota and which is accountable to the accrediting body. (f) "Teaching institution" means a hospital, medical center, clinic, or other organization that conducts a clinical medical education program in Minnesota. (g) "Trainee" means a student or resident involved in a clinical medical education program. (h) "Eligible trainee FTE's" means the number of trainees, as measured by full-time equivalent counts, that are at training sites located in Minnesota with currently active medical assistance enrollment status and a National Provider Identification (NPI) number where training occurs in either an inpatient or ambulatory patient care setting and where the training is funded, in part, by patient care revenues. Training that occurs in nursing facility settings is not eligible for funding under this section. Subd. 2.  [Repealed, 2007 c 133 art 2 s 13] Subd. 3. Application process. (a) A clinical medical education program conducted in Minnesota by a teaching institution to train physicians, doctor of pharmacy practitioners, dentists, chiropractors, physician assistants, dental therapists and advanced dental therapists, psychologists, clinical social workers, community paramedics, or community health workers is eligible for funds under subdivision 4 if the program: (1) is funded, in part, by patient care revenues; (2) occurs in patient care settings that face increased financial pressure as a result of competition with nonteaching patient care entities; and (3) emphasizes primary care or specialties that are in undersupply in Minnesota. (b) A clinical medical education program for advanced practice nursing is eligible for funds under subdivision 4 if the program meets the eligibility requirements in paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3), and is sponsored by the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, the Mayo Foundation, or institutions that are part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system or members of the Minnesota Private College Council. (c) Applications must be submitted to the commissioner by a sponsoring institution on behalf of an eligible clinical medical education program and must be received by October 31 of each year for distribution in the following year. An application for funds must contain the following information: (1) the official name and address of the sponsoring institution and the official name and site address of the clinical medical education programs on whose behalf the sponsoring institution is applying; (2) the name, title, and business address of those persons responsible for administering the funds; (3) for each clinical medical education program for which funds are being sought; the type and specialty orientation of trainees in the program; the name, site address, and medical assistance provider number and national provider identification number of each training site used in the program; the federal tax identification number of each training site used in the program, where available; the total number of trainees at each training site; and the total number of eligible trainee FTEs at each site; and (4) other supporting information the commissioner deems necessary to determine program eligibility based on the criteria in paragraphs (a) and (b) and to ensure the equitable distribution of funds. (d) An application must include the information specified in clauses (1) to (3) for each clinical medical education program on an annual basis for three consecutive years. After that time, an application must include the information specified in clauses (1) to (3) when requested, at the discretion of the commissioner: (1) audited clinical training costs per trainee for each clinical medical education program when available or estimates of clinical training costs based on audited financial data; (2) a description of current sources of funding for clinical medical education costs, including a description and dollar amount of all state and federal financial support, including Medicare direct and indirect payments; and (3) other revenue received for the purposes of clinical training. (e) An applicant that does not provide information requested by the commissioner shall not be eligible for funds for the current funding cycle. Subd. 4. Distribution of funds. (a) The commissioner shall annually distribute the available medical education funds to all qualifying applicants based on a public program volume factor, which is determined by the total volume of public program revenue received by each training site as a percentage of all public program revenue received by all training sites in the fund pool. Public program revenue for the distribution formula includes revenue from medical assistance and prepaid medical assistance. Training sites that receive no public program revenue are ineligible for funds available under this subdivision. For purposes of determining training-site level grants to be distributed under this paragraph, total statewide average costs per trainee for medical residents is based on audited clinical training costs per trainee in primary care clinical medical education programs for medical residents. Total statewide average costs per trainee for dental residents is based on audited clinical training costs per trainee in clinical medical education programs for dental students. Total statewide average costs per trainee for pharmacy residents is based on audited clinical training costs per trainee in clinical medical education programs for pharmacy students. Training sites whose training site level grant is less than $5,000, based on the formula described in this paragraph, or that train fewer than 0.1 FTE eligible trainees, are ineligible for funds available under this subdivision. No training sites shall receive a grant per FTE trainee that is in excess of the 95th percentile grant per FTE across all eligible training sites; grants in excess of this amount will be redistributed to other eligible sites based on the formula described in this paragraph. (b) For funds distributed in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the distribution formula shall include a supplemental public program volume factor, which is determined by providing a supplemental payment to training sites whose public program revenue accounted for at least 0.98 percent of the total public program revenue received by all eligible training sites. The supplemental public program volume factor shall be equal to ten percent of each training site's grant for funds distributed in fiscal year 2014 and for funds distributed in fiscal year 2015. Grants to training sites whose public program revenue accounted for less than 0.98 percent of the total public program revenue received by all eligible training sites shall be reduced by an amount equal to the total value of the supplemental payment. For fiscal year 2016 and beyond, the distribution of funds shall be based solely on the public program volume factor as described in paragraph (a). (c) Funds distributed shall not be used to displace current funding appropriations from federal or state sources. (d) Funds shall be distributed to the sponsoring institutions indicating the amount to be distributed to each of the sponsor's clinical medical education programs based on the criteria in this subdivision and in accordance with the commissioner's approval letter. Each clinical medical education program must distribute funds allocated under paragraphs (a) and (b) to the training sites as specified in the commissioner's approval letter. Sponsoring institutions, which are accredited through an organization recognized by the Department of Education or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, may contract directly with training sites to provide clinical training. To ensure the quality of clinical training, those accredited sponsoring institutions must: (1) develop contracts specifying the terms, expectations, and outcomes of the clinical training conducted at sites; and (2) take necessary action if the contract requirements are not met. Action may include the withholding of payments under this section or the removal of students from the site. (e) Use of funds is limited to expenses related to clinical training program costs for eligible programs. (f) Any funds not distributed in accordance with the commissioner's approval letter must be returned to the medical education and research fund within 30 days of receiving notice from the commissioner. The commissioner shall distribute returned funds to the appropriate training sites in accordance with the commissioner's approval letter. (g) A maximum of $150,000 of the funds dedicated to the commissioner under section 297F.10, subdivision 1, clause (2), may be used by the commissioner for administrative expenses associated with implementing this section. Subd. 4a. Alternative distribution. If federal approval is not received for the formula described in subdivision 4, paragraphs (a) and (b), 100 percent of available medical education and research funds shall be distributed based on a distribution formula that reflects a summation of two factors: (1) a public program volume factor, that is determined by the total volume of public program revenue received by each training site as a percentage of all public program revenue received by all training sites in the fund pool; and (2) a supplemental public program volume factor, that is determined by providing a supplemental payment of 20 percent of each training site's grant to training sites whose public program revenue accounted for at least 0.98 percent of the total public program revenue received by all eligible training sites. Grants to training sites whose public program revenue accounted for less than 0.98 percent of the total public program revenue received by all eligible training sites shall be reduced by an amount equal to the total value of the supplemental payment. Subd. 5. Report. (a) Sponsoring institutions receiving funds under this section must sign and submit a medical education grant verification report (GVR) to verify that the correct grant amount was forwarded to each eligible training site. If the sponsoring institution fails to submit the GVR by the stated deadline, or to request and meet the deadline for an extension, the sponsoring institution is required to return the full amount of funds received to the commissioner within 30 days of receiving notice from the commissioner. The commissioner shall distribute returned funds to the appropriate training sites in accordance with the commissioner's approval letter. (b) The reports must provide verification of the distribution of the funds and must include: (1) the total number of eligible trainee FTEs in each clinical medical education program; (2) the name of each funded program and, for each program, the dollar amount distributed to each training site and a training site expenditure report; (3) documentation of any discrepancies between the initial grant distribution notice included in the commissioner's approval letter and the actual distribution; (4) a statement by the sponsoring institution stating that the completed grant verification report is valid and accurate; and (5) other information the commissioner deems appropriate to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of funds for medical education. (c) Each year, the commissioner shall provide an annual summary report to the legislature on the implementation of this section. Subd. 6. Other available funds. The commissioner is authorized to distribute, in accordance with subdivision 4, funds made available through: (1) voluntary contributions by employers or other entities; (2) allocations for the commissioner 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 fund. Subd. 7. Transfers from commissioner of human services. Of the amount transferred according to section 256B.69, subdivision 5c, paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (4), $21,714,000 shall be distributed as follows: (1) $2,157,000 shall be distributed by the commissioner to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents for the purposes described in sections 137.38 to 137.40; (2) $1,035,360 shall be distributed by the commissioner to the Hennepin County Medical Center for clinical medical education; (3) $17,400,000 shall be distributed by the commissioner to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents for purposes of medical education; (4) $1,121,640 shall be distributed by the commissioner to clinical medical education dental innovation grants in accordance with subdivision 7a; and (5) the remainder of the amount transferred according to section 256B.69, subdivision 5c, clauses (1) to (4), shall be distributed by the commissioner annually to clinical medical education programs that meet the qualifications of subdivision 3 based on the formula in subdivision 4, paragraph (a). Subd. 7a. Clinical medical education innovations grants. (a) The commissioner shall award grants to teaching institutions and clinical training sites for projects that increase dental access for underserved populations and promote innovative clinical training of dental professionals. In awarding the grants, the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of human services, shall consider the following: (1) potential to successfully increase access to an underserved population; (2) the long-term viability of the project to improve access beyond the period of initial funding; (3) evidence of collaboration between the applicant and local communities; (4) the efficiency in the use of the funding; and (5) the priority level of the project in relation to state clinical education, access, and workforce goals. (b) The commissioner shall periodically evaluate the priorities in awarding the innovations grants in order to ensure that the priorities meet the changing workforce needs of the state. Subd. 8. Federal financial participation. The commissioner of human services shall seek to maximize federal financial participation in payments for medical education and research costs. The commissioner shall use physician clinic rates where possible to maximize federal financial participation. Any additional funds that become available must be distributed under subdivision 4, paragraph (a). Subd. 9. Review of eligible providers. The commissioner may review provider groups included in the definition of a clinical medical education program to assure that the distribution of the funds continue to be consistent with the purpose of this section. The results of any such reviews must be reported to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health care policy and finance. Subd. 10.  [Repealed, 2007 c 147 art 15 s 22] History:  1999 c 245 art 2 s 10; 2000 c 494 s 1-3; 2001 c 161 s 14; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 2 s 2,3; 2002 c 220 art 15 s 1,2; 2002 c 277 s 32; 2002 c 375 art 3 s 1; 2002 c 379 art 1 s 113; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 7 s 16-19; art 12 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 21 art 9 s 1,2; 2004 c 228 art 1 s 16; 2005 c 10 art 1 s 81; 2005 c 84 s 1-3; 1Sp2005 c 4 art 2 s 1; 2007 c 147 art 15 s 5-8; 2009 c 79 art 5 s 4; 1Sp2010 c 1 art 21 s 1; 1Sp2011 c 9 art 2 s 3; art 6 s 13; 2013 c 108 art 12 s 4-9; 2015 c 71 art 8 s 6; 2016 c 158 art 2 s 17