A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the General Administration of the University of North carolina to study ways to increase primary care residencies in underserved areas of north carolina.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The General Administration of The University of North Carolina, in collaboration with academic medical centers and medical associations throughout the State, shall study and make recommendations on an appropriate structure and methodology to increase the number of primary care residencies in underserved areas of North Carolina. 
SECTION 1.(b)  The study shall include participation by the Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Hospital Authority d/b/a Carolinas HealthCare System; Duke University and Health System; East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine; Wake Forest University School of Medicine; the North Carolina Hospital Association; the Old North State Medical Society; and the North Carolina Medical Society.
SECTION 1.(c)  The study shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(1)	An assessment of the State's health care needs, specifically, but not limited to, the need for health care providers, on an ongoing basis. 
(2)	The development of strategies to increase the overall supply of physicians to meet current and future unmet health needs of the State's growing population. 
(3)	A recommendation that the allocation of any new funds allocated for new Graduated Medical Education (GME) positions from the State Legislature address physician workforce issues facing the State. 
(4)	Establishment of priorities for which types of physician specialties are most needed to meet the health care needs of the State.
(5)	A recommendation to develop and oversee the implementation of pilot demonstration projects directed at increasing supply of graduate institutions.
(6)	The identification of programs that develop innovative training methods and strategies.
(7)	The consideration of ways to encourage more physicians to train and to practice in North Carolina, including underserved areas, by working with the academic medical centers to develop new training models to expand the number of physicians training in rural North Carolina.
(8)	The development of strategies for implementation of policies to help increase the representation of currently underrepresented minorities in the medical field.
(9)	The identification of barriers that affect recruitment into GME slots and retention of physicians following residency and ways to address those barriers.
(10)	The consideration of the development of scholarships for North Carolina residents going to North Carolina medical schools who make a commitment to stay and practice in the State.
(11)	Recommendations for methods to engage academic medical centers and Area Health Education Center sites with respect to the short- and long‑term expansion capacities of their residency training programs. 
(12)	The development of metrics that demonstrate success of these initiatives and in meeting the goals for the corporation.
SECTION 2.  The General Administration of The University of North Carolina shall report its findings and any recommended legislation to the Joint Legislative Health Care Oversight Committee on or before April 1, 2012. 
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.