Proven avenues to expand Texas’ physician workforce – via funding secured for undergraduate and graduate medical education (GME), loan repayment, and rural training programs, as well as supporting TMB’s efforts to process licenses for physicians moving to Texas from other states – were again successful. TMA estimates Texas needs another 200 first-year residency positions by 2029 to stay at its target 1.1 to 1 ratio of residency positions to Texas medical school graduates.
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, a 7.3% jump in population between 2020 and 2024 allowed Texas to cross the 30 million milestone, with an estimated 31.3 million people now residing in the Lone Star State. In 2024 alone, TMB issued more than 7,600 medical licenses, setting yet another historic record for the state.
“People want to live in Texas,” said Rodney B. Young, MD, in Feb. 25 testimony representing TMA and four state specialty societies. “When you are No. 1 in the nation in population gains, this presents a challenge for keeping up with escalating health care needs.”
The Amarillo family physician and member of TMA’s Board of Trustees explains that GME is crucial to making sure the state has enough doctors to provide patients access to care.
“The strongest correlate of where people will choose to stay in practice is where they receive their residency training,” he told Texas Medicine. “The money to help us expand residency positions in Texas helps us keep up physician growth.”
Rep. Suleman Lalani, MD (D-Sugar Land), one of TMA’s most steadfast supporters in workforce efforts, told Texas Medicine the funding allotments – especially GME – are a victory for medicine and for Texans.
“We will not only try to keep our physicians who are graduating from Texas [schools], but we can also attract new physicians from outside the state to become residents in our state, and then hopefully they will stay, and then we will be providing good care to our Texans,” he said.
Last Updated On
August 27, 2025
Originally Published On
August 27, 2025
Phil West
Associate Editor
(512) 370-1394
phil.west[at]texmed[dot]org
Phil West is a writer and editor whose publications include the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Austin American-Statesman, and San Antonio Express-News. He earned a BA in journalism from the University of Washington and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin’s James A. Michener Center for Writers. He lives in Austin with his wife, children, and a trio of free-spirited dogs.