The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare that we are facing a mounting shortage of physicians. To ensure that communities had access to health care during the pandemic, hospitals were forced to rely on a patchwork of short-term solutions including calling on retired physicians and relocating physicians from other geographic areas.

As we turn the bend on this current crisis, we are still left with a physician shortage that is only worsening as our population continues to grow and age.  By 2033, the U.S. is projected to have a shortage of 139,000 physicians according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).  We need to address this critical shortage now so that we can be prepared to respond to future public health crises and to ensure that everyone is able to access quality health care.

One of the main bottlenecks in medical education is the number of training spots which was arbitrarily capped by Congress in 1997 by limiting funding for Graduate Medical Education (GME). Only last year were 1,000 spots added, a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough.  

The Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 (S.834) would increase the number of physician training positions nationwide by an additional 14,000 over seven years. This legislation focuses on increasing training slots where they are needed most including underserved and rural communities.

Since it can take 10 years to train a physician, we need to act now. Please support your healthcare workers so that they can provide you and your community with quality care in the future!

Please contact your State Senator and urge them to support this bill and become a cosponsor. Find your senator click here.

To understand more about the problem click here.