Eighty medical organizations have signed a letter expressing support for a bipartisan bill looking to expand the US physician workforce.
The letter was sent May 22 to Senators John Boozman, Susan Collins, Bob Mendez and Chuck Schumer on behalf of the Graduate Medical Education Advocacy Committee. The letter supports the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, which aims to add 14,000 Medicare-supported medical residency positions over a seven-year period.
"Shortages and access challenges will persist unless we expand the physician workforce," the letter said. "With demand for physicians continuing to outpace supply as both the patient population and physician workforce continue to age—it is critical now more than ever that Congress build on recent bipartisan efforts and invest in training more doctors."