A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University to coordinate a search for actionable solutions to physician shortages and to explore and expand health care opportunities in medically underserved areas in collaboration with community, state agency, professional associations, and other stakeholders.

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A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the University of Kentucky, the University of 1
Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University to coordinate a sear ch for actionable 2
solutions to physician shortages and to explore and expand health care opportunities in 3
medically underserved areas in collaboration with community, state agency, professional 4
associations, and other stakeholders. 5
WHEREAS, over 75 percent of physicians practice in urban areas in Kentucky, 6
leaving many counties with a shortage of physicians; and 7
WHEREAS, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has 8
designated 40 counties as health professional shortage areas for primary car e providers; 9
and 10
WHEREAS, without local access to physicians, individuals in medically 11
underserved areas are often compelled to travel long distances to other counties for health 12
care, which may involve transportation and financial barriers and result in i ndividuals 13
going without care; and 14
WHEREAS, regular primary care physician visits serve as the first line in 15
diagnosing illness and have been associated with a reduced number of hospitalizations 16
and emergency room department visits; and 17
WHEREAS, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports that 57 percent 18
of medical residents continued practicing medicine in their training state; and 19
WHEREAS, 38 percent of physicians practice medicine in the same state where 20
they completed undergraduate medical educ ation, and the rate is higher for public 21
undergraduate medical school graduates, 46 percent; and 22
WHEREAS, according to the American Medical Association, the highest state 23
retention rates are for family medicine, 64.6 percent, psychiatry, 64.5 percent, and 24
pediatrics, 60 percent; and 25
WHEREAS, while some efforts have been made to increase medical residency 26
placements and admissions into medical school in Kentucky, these efforts have not been 27
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nearly enough to meet the need; and 1
WHEREAS, greater efforts could be taken to encourage medical school graduates 2
to complete their residencies in medically underserved areas so they might be compelled 3
to continue practicing medicine and living there; and 4
WHEREAS, opportunities to expand health care access in medically underserved 5
areas may include h ealth care workforce diversification, innovative technology -enabled 6
solutions and support, and attention to non -clinical health care needs and community -7
based care; 8
NOW, THEREFORE, 9
Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 10
Section 1. (1) The General Assembly directs the University of Kentucky, 11
the University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University to coordinate a search for 12
actionable solutions to the physician shortages and to explore and expand health care 13
opportunities in collabo ration with community, state agency, professional associations, 14
and other stakeholders. The search to find actionable solutions and explore opportunities 15
to expand health care access shall focus on the: 16
(a) Shortage of primary and specialty care physicians in medically underserved 17
areas; 18
(b) Chronic lack of access to physician care by medically underserved 19
populations; 20
(c) Retaining of physicians in medically underserved areas; and 21
(d) Workforce, technological, and community -based opportunities to increase 22
access to care. 23
(2) The search and exploration shall include an examination of: 24
(a) Current actions being taken; 25
(b) Possibilities for building on current actions; and 26
(c) Innovative actions that may be taken, including but not limited to: 27
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1. Sponsorship of community graduate medical education programs; 1
2. Growing graduate medical education sites in medically underserved areas; 2
3. Encouraging safe international physician recruitment; 3
4. Increasing basic administration reimbursement for recruitment and pla cement 4
services of medical students, residents, and physicians; 5
5. Integrating workforce diversification in educational programs; 6
6. Expanding technological health care delivery options; and 7
7. Considering community-based medical models. 8
(3) The search and exploration shall include an analysis of any existing regulatory 9
or statutory barriers to achieving a solution that attracts providers to medically 10
underserved areas and does not limit modifications or expansions to medical education 11
programs. 12
(4) The Un iversity of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Eastern 13
Kentucky University shall coordinate to develop a report to be submitted to the 14
Legislative Research Commission by January 1, 2027, for referral to the General 15
Assembly. The report shall: 16
(a) Describe and provide data on medically underserved areas and medically 17
underserved populations by county on the: 18
1. Shortage of primary and specialty care physicians; 19
2. Lack of access to physician care; and 20
3. Retention of physicians; 21
(b) Provide an overview of: 22
1. Current actions; 23
2. Possibilities for building on current actions; 24
3. Innovative actions that may be taken; and 25
4. Regulatory or statutory barriers; and 26
(c) Provide detailed actional solutions and a discussion of opportunities to expand 27
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health care opportunities to address the physician shortages in medically underserved 1
areas of Kentucky, including: 2
1. Agencies that may be responsible for the actions; 3
2. Resources needed to achieve the actions; and 4
3. A suggested timeframe for achieving the solutions. 5
Section 2. (1) The General Assembly finds that Kentucky continues to face 6
a persistent and growing shortage of physicians and other clinicians, resulting in 7
insufficient workforce capacity and impacting access to health care across the state, and 8
strategic action is necessary to expand access to care. Training models at universities 9
across the country and Kentucky have demonstra ted that physicians are more likely to 10
remain in or return to the communities in which they trained to establish their practice, 11
specifically in communities where primary academic training activities will occur and 12
will evolve into a collaborative partners hip with local and regional public and private 13
higher education institutions and health care providers to deliver education and clinical 14
training. 15
(2) The General Assembly authorizes the University of Kentucky to develop a 16
feasibility study to explore the persistent and growing shortage of physicians and other 17
clinicians in collaboration with all health care workforce partners in and around the 18
Owensboro region to take advantage of HealthForce Kentucky. 19
(3) The feasibility study may be provided to the Gener al Assembly by December 20
1, 2026. Based upon the feasibility study, the General Assembly shall consider funding of 21
up to $10,000,000 in the 2027 Regular Session to address the findings of the feasibility 22
study. 23