The AAMC is urging members of Congress to cosponsor the bipartisan Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (S. 1302/H.R. 2389), which would gradually increase the number of Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions by 14,000 over seven years.
The United States is projected to face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. The country's population continues to grow and age, requiring more medical care, and an aging physician workforce nears retirement, which creates critical need to educate and train more doctors to ensure there are enough physicians to care for patients and communities nationwide.
Medicare is the primary public source of funding for graduate medical education. However, Congress capped Medicare support for GME in the late 1990s, creating an artificial bottleneck for the physician workforce.
In December 2020 and December 2022, Congress passed bipartisan legislation that provided Medicare support for 1,000 and 200 additional residency positions, respectively. These were the first increases in two decades. This newly proposed legislation in the U.S. House and Senate would build on that historic, bipartisan investment and work to strengthen and diversify the health care workforce so patients across the country can access the care they need.
Interested in this issue or in advocating for legislation and policy like this one? Check out the AAMC Action community.
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Brian Lehman
Director, Public Affairs
Association of American Medical Colleges
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