Review of US medical school finances, 1995-1996

An analysis of the finances of all 125 accredited US medical schools is presented. Total revenues exceeded $31 billion in the 1995-96 school year, up about 5% from the previous year after adjusting for inflation. Revenue from tuition and fees increased 4.4% after inflation and funding from state and local governments increased by 1.6% after inflation. Much of the growth comes from clinical revenues, since the number of full-time clinical faculty increased 6% that year. Federal research grant payments rose 6.2% after inflation. About one-fourth of clinical revenues comes from Medicare/Medicaid.
For the 1995-1996 fiscal year, all 125accredited US medical schools responded to the annual medical school questionnaire of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, part I-A. Using data from the financial portion of the questionnaire, we identify patterns of financing medical education during the past 3 years and the practice plan arrangements adopted by medical schools, including their organizational and legal structures. This financial review details differences in how public and private medical schools are being funded and funding changes during the past 3 years. The reported data show that revenues supporting medical school programs and activities totaled more than $31 billion in 1995-1996, an increase of 5.4% in inflation-adjusted dollars during the previous year. Compared with the previous year, revenues, in current and constant dollars, increased in almost every category in 1995-1996.