AHA-supported bill would add 14,000 Medicare-funded residency positions

The AHA today voiced support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2023 (H.R.2389), legislation that would add 14,000 Medicare-funded residency positions to help alleviate physician shortages that threaten patients’ access to care.

The bill would add 2,000 positions per year for seven years, targeting a portion of these positions to: hospitals already training over their caps; hospitals in rural areas; hospitals in states with new medical schools or branch campuses; and hospitals serving areas designated as health professional shortage areas.

“Your legislation responsibly addresses the nation’s urgent need for additional physicians,” AHA said in a letter to the bill’s sponsors, Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “We also applaud you for directing the Government Accountability Office to recommend to Congress strategies for increasing the diversity of the health professional workforce.”