Re: Tell Congress : Increase GME Support
adonis123 - 01-08-10 14:55

Please do visit the above mentioned links and do tell congress to increase the number of residency training positions.
Do it now and do not miss this chance.
Tell every USMLE test taker to do so.
Here is the content of the email which u will be able to send thro' these links:

"I ask you to strongly urge the House and Senate leadership to include in their final health care reform agreement a 15 percent increase in the number of Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) training slots. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Schumer (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) filed an amendment (SA 2909) to HR 3590 that would accomplish this objective. Fourteen (14) of their Senate colleagues from around the country joined them in cosponsoring the amendment.

Without an expansion in physician training, the number of physicians per capita will continue to decline over the next decade as millions more Americans have access to health insurance.

As you may know, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects a shortage of over 125,000 physicians by 2025. Expanded access to health care services under health care reform will only exacerbate that shortage. By adding 15,000 Medicare-supported training slots, the language of SA 2909 would produce an estimated 40,000 new physicians over the next 10 years.

Because it can take up to 14 years to educate and train a new doctor, Congress must act today to assure the availability of physicians in the future. Expanding Medicare's support for GME will allow us to expand the nation's residency training programs and avert the physician shortage. Under SA 2909, hospitals that expand their primary care and general surgery training programs receive preference under the slot distribution process, as do hospitals that emphasize residency training beyond the hospital setting (eg, in community health centers). It also gives preference to hospitals in states with low resident-to-population ratios and states with more medical students that GME training slots.

The language of SA 2909 had strong support among the physician and hospital communities. The AAMC strongly endorsed the amendment, as did the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), American Medical Association(AMA), American College Physicians (ACP), the American College of Surgeons(ACS), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Organization of Student Representatives, which represents nearly 75,000 medical students.

Although the health care reform bills passed by the House and Senate do take important steps to strengthen primary care and general surgery training programs, they do not significantly increase in the physician workforce because they do not increase Medicare support for GME.

In that light, I strongly urge you to support a GME expansion as part of the conference agreement on health care reform legislation. Please strongly encourage the House and Senate leadership to include what should be a priority of any national effort to expand and preserve access to health care services."

Thanks!

Re: Tell Congress : Increase GME Support
conym5 - 01-08-10 16:19

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