Workforce

• According to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the United States is facing a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. An aging physician population, rising rates of burnout, and early retirement continue to exacerbate the impact on the health of patients and communities. The two-year COVID-19 pandemic has only further impacted the country’s physician workforce and projected shortage.  
• Expanding federal support for graduate medical education (GME) will help address the physician shortage by increasing the number of Medicare-supported medical residency slots so more doctors will be trained. In turn, more practicing physicians will help alleviate the doctor shortage, ensure better patient access to care, address health equity, improve diversity among physicians, and help prepare the nation for the next public health crisis.  
• Increasing the number of medical residency positions is vital to the health of communities, especially in underserved rural and urban areas where a shortage of health care professionals continues to limit access to care and exacerbate health inequities. 
• We urge Senate Democrats and all members of Congress to increase the number of Medicare-supported GME positions. The House-passed Build Back Better Act included 4,000 new Medicare-supported slots. To strengthen our health care workforce and help improve access to care for patients and communities, it is critical that the Senate include this proposal in the legislative package. 

Check out the AAMC report here

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act

This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas.

Both the House and Senate Labor-HHS reports contained language that clarifies congressional intent for the distribution of the 1,000 new, Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) slots provided in Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The Senate explanatory statement reiterated that Congress specified four categories of eligible hospitals for distribution of the slots: hospitals training residents over their cap, hospitals in states with new medical schools, hospitals in rural areas, and hospitals serving Health Professional Shortage Areas. It notes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has created a “super prioritization” standard through rulemaking, which is heavily reliant on the location of the teaching hospital. The language stressed that this “super prioritization” is “not found in the statute and is not consistent with Congressional intent.” Further, the Senate language directed the CMS to “eliminate or partially modify the ‘super prioritization’ in fiscal year 2023 and beyond.” Both reports urge the CMS to “prioritize applications from any hospitals seeking to establish or expand residency training in certain needed specialties, such as primary care, geriatrics, and general surgery, as had been the priority with previous GME slot distribution programs.”

See Senate explanatory statement here

See sign-on letter urging inclusion