Legislation introduced to open new residency training slots

To address the growing physician shortage, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that seeks to add 15,000 Medicare-supported residency slots by 2019. The Resident Physician Shortage Act would remove the funding cap placed on residency slots at teaching hospitals back in 1997.

The bill’s sponsors, which include Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), acknowledged that funding the additional slots is a major obstacle but cited the American Association of Medical Colleges’ prediction of a shortage of 91,500 physicians by 2020 as evidence that action needs to be taken.

Two previous bills that proposed increasing the number of residency slots failed to pass the House of Representatives last year but Casey said the current focus on reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs has brought more attention to the issue of physician shortages nationwide.

The bill also requires the U.S. Government Accountability Office to compile a report on increasing diversity among health professionals, and the National Health Care Workforce Commission to submit a report to Congress focused on specialty physician shortages.

Sources: Oleans Times Herald, Philly.com