AHA comments on draft bill to increase Medicare-funded physician residency slots

The AHA Jan. 31 commended Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Cornyn, R-Texas., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on draft legislation that would increase the number of Medicare-funded physician residency positions. The senators' draft Medicare graduate medical education reform package would fund 5,000 new physician residency slots nationwide, targeting shortages in underserved areas including rural communities. A portion of the slots would be allocated to primary care physicians and psychiatrists. The draft bill would also establish a GME policy council, similar to the Council on Graduate Medical Education, to advise the Department of Health and Human Services on various aspects of federal GME policy.