The AAMC-led Graduate Medical Education Advocacy Coalition on Sept. 9 expressed strong support (PDF) for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 (S. 2439/H.R. 4731), bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding the physician workforce and improving patient access to care. The coalition’s letter was sent to Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as well as Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
The legislation would build on recent investments in physician training by adding 2,000 new Medicare-supported GME slots annually over seven years, totaling 14,000 new positions. The letter emphasized that while medical schools, teaching hospitals, and physicians are making significant investments in training and care delivery innovation, expanding the physician pathway is essential to addressing projected shortages of up to 86,000 primary care and specialty physicians by 2036. The letter concluded by encouraging Congress to support the legislation and invest in the training of the nation’s future physicians.