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2 Harris County Physician Newsletter %u2022 October 2025 %u2022 www.hcms.org %u2022 Go back to First PagePresident%u2019s PageAll articles that mention HCMS%u2019 stance on state legislation are defined as %u201clegislative advertising,%u201d according to Tex. Gov%u2019t. Code Ann. %u00a7305.027. Executive Vice President Sean Murphy contracts with the printer to publish legislative advertising. Harris County Physician Newsletter (USPS 960-580) is the official monthly publication of Harris County Medical Society, located at 1515 Hermann Drive, Houston, TX 77004-7126, Office 713-524-4267, Fax 713-526-1434, www.hcms.org. Annual subscription price is $20. Periodicals Postage Paid at Houston, TX POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Harris County Physician Newsletter, 1515 Hermann Drive, Houston, TX 77004-7126.Investing in Texas%u2019 Doctors: Why the 2025 GME boost matters for patients and physiciansThis year the Texas Legislature made a smart investment in the future of our profession by increasing funding for Graduate Medical Education (GME). That means more residency positions across our state. For physicians, this is not just a budget decision %u2014 it is one of the most important ways Texas can maintain a healthy physician-to-patient ratio and improve access to care for our patients. We know physicians tend to practice where they complete their residency training. Nationally, more than half of physicians stay in the state where they train %u2014 and Texas shows similar patterns. Data from the Texas Medical Board confirms that while many graduates of Texas medical schools stay for residency, too many leave the state simply because there are not enough Texas slots. When they leave, they often do not return. Without sufficient residency opportunities, Texas risks training future doctors for other states instead of for our own communities. The Legislature%u2019s funding increase helps us pursue the long-standing goal of having at least 1.1 residency positions for every Texas medical school graduate. This is crucial because Texas has added several medical schools in recent years and now ranks third for the most medical student graduates in the U.S. (beckershospitalreview.com). Without matching growth in residency positions, we would create a bottleneck that sends our young doctors elsewhere. By expanding GME, more medical school graduates can stay in Texas for residency %u2014 and, more importantly, hopefully, remain here to practice once training is complete. This is critical for patient access to care. A physician trained in Houston is much more likely to practice in Houston or a nearby community than someone who trained elsewhere. That local connection means more clinics staffed, more specialists available, shorter wait times, and better continuity of care. It strengthens our referral networks and hospital coverage, keeping practices sustainable and patients better served. We believe that physician-led care is important for quality care and improved access to care, especially in rural areas. Nonphysician practitioners are an important part of a patient%u2019s health care team. However, having more physicians trained will ensure that patients are getting the depth and breadth of experience for better health outcomes. To help attract physicians to underserved areas, the Legislature also approved enhanced loan repayment and rural training incentives. The Texas Physician Education Loan Repayment Program (PELRP) (https://bit.ly/4nO0QOK) now offers up to $180,000 in loan repayment over four years to qualified physicians who commit to practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas in Texas. For rural and nonmetropolitan communities, Texas created the Rural Resident Physician Program (RRPP) (https://bit.ly/42gRgLW) to support establishing or expanding residencies in rural hospitals and community health entities. Training physicians in rural communities is one of the best ways to keep them there long term. Texas also sustained funding for the Graduate Medical Education Planning and Partnership Grants program (https://bit.ly/46rPNoy), which helps hospitals, medical schools, and community health centers create new residency programs with first-year slots. Since 2014, this program has supported the creation of 33 new residency programs and 275 new first-year positions. It%u2019s critical to remember: this year%u2019s funding increase %u2014 and the new rural and loan repayment programs %u2014 are not a %u201cone and done%u201d fix. Medical school enrollment continues to climb. If future Legislatures don%u2019t keep pace with GME, residency grants, and loan repayment incentives, we risk stalling again. This must remain a continuous priority for HCMS and all organized medicine. For Harris County physicians, this is a win %u2014 but also a call to action. We need to ensure these residency slots are placed where they will deliver the greatest impact. We also must keep reminding policymakers and the public that expanding access to care is best achieved by investing in physician training and aligned incentives like PELRP and RRPP %u2014 not by broadening scopes of practice for non-physician practitioners in ways that may compromise quality or increase costs. The increase in GME funding and supporting programs is a victory we should celebrate. It reflects years of coordinated advocacy by organized medicine in Texas, and it shows lawmakers understand the link between training physicians and improving patient care. But we cannot become complacent. We must remain engaged, vigilant, and ready to fight for this funding every legislative session. Our patients deserve nothing less.