Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the bipartisan Physicians for Underserved Areas Act to help address the nationwide physician shortage by updating the Graduate Medical Education (GME) slot process following a hospital closure to prioritize sending federally-funded medical residency slots to areas where doctors are most needed.
“Nevada currently ranks 48th in the nation when it comes to primary care physicians per capita, and this shortage has had a dire impact on Nevadans’ ability to seek health care,” said Senator Jacky Rosen. “This bipartisan legislation will help add to the number of medical residency slots available for Nevada hospitals and encourage more doctors to come practice in our state, including in communities which previously have been underserved.”
“In rural states like Arkansas, the shortage of primary care physicians and specialty doctors creates a health care delivery challenge,” said Senator Boozman. “The Physicians for Underserved Areas Act is part of the solution to bridge this gap and encourage more medical school graduates to practice in rural areas. I’m pleased to continue advancing proposals to ensure all Americans, no matter where they live, get the care they need.”
The bipartisan Physicians for Underserved Areas Act would revise the GME process to give medical residency programs in areas with physician shortages a greater chance of gaining available residency slots after hospital closures elsewhere in the country.
The legislation also would continue to prioritize keeping medical residency slots local and within the same state when hospitals close and would update the requirement for quickly filling GME slots.
“Nevada continues to struggle with statewide physician workforce shortages,” said Dr. John Packham, Associate Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno’s School of Medicine. “This important bill will support efforts by medical schools and teaching hospitals across the state to expand graduate medical education opportunities to train tomorrow’s doctors.”
(Jacky Rosen U.S. Senator for Nevada contributed to this report.)
