The AAMC submitted a statement for the record (PDF) to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee regarding its Feb. 24 hearing, “Advancing the Next Generation of America’s Health Care Workforce,” which highlighted the critical role academic medicine plays in training the nation’s physician workforce and strengthening access to care [refer to Washington Highlights, Feb. 27]. In its statement, the AAMC noted that while medical school enrollment has grown significantly over the past two decades, the number of Medicare-supported residency positions has remained effectively capped since 1997, creating a bottleneck in physician training at a time when the United States faces a projected shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
To help address these workforce challenges, the AAMC urged Congress to expand Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions, including through the bipartisan Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (H.R. 4731/S. 2439), which would add 14,000 residency slots over seven years with priority for hospitals in rural and underserved communities. The statement also encouraged lawmakers to strengthen complementary workforce programs, such as the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, Teaching Health Center GME, and Title VII health professions programs, and support policies that expand physician training opportunities in rural areas, including codifying the Rural Residency Planning and Development program. The AAMC also highlighted how academic medicine is modernizing physician education and has integrated training in emerging areas such as nutrition, telehealth, and artificial intelligence to prepare physicians to meet evolving patient needs.