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Committee tables $6 million proposal to expand physician residency slots
Summary
Senate Bill 216 would create a grant program to help hospitals build or expand residency programs (roughly $2 million per hospital, $6 million target for three hospitals). Committee members questioned potential duplication with recent Section E funding and reserved action; the bill was tabled in executive session.
Senate Bill 216, the Physicians Workforce Investment Act, aimed to fund residency programs in Montana to help retain physicians after training by offering grants to hospitals. Sponsor Sen. Lance described an approximate cost of $2 million per hospital and cited an industry rule of thumb that about 65% of residents stay in the state where they train.
The committee heard no on‑the‑record proponents in the room but received an informational presentation from Jay Phillips, deputy commissioner at the Department of Labor and Industry, who was available to answer fiscal questions. Senators focused their questions on whether SB216 duplicated appropriations or programs already funded in Section E and on the level of state matching required.
Senator Ellis and other senators pointed to a Section E budget allocation (discussed as about $5–$5.7 million) and to an OCHE (Office of Commissioner of Higher Education) budget item (~$700,000 with a 6:1 match) that members said might overlap with the bill’s intent. Sponsor Lance said SB216 establishes a grant program that hospitals would use to build residency capacity, and acknowledged he had not fully vetted potential duplication with Section E funds but was open to coordinating.
During executive action, members discussed the overlap with recently authorized Section E appropriations and concerns about duplicating state investments. A motion to pass SB216 was replaced by a substitute motion to table the bill; the committee tabled SB216.
If revived, senators said they expect clearer coordination with Section E appropriations or a demonstration that SB216 fills an unmet gap in residency funding. The committee vote to table leaves the bill without further action from Finance and Claims at this time.
