On March 20, the AANS and the CNS joined the Alliance of Specialty Medicine in responding to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions request for information about health care workforce shortages. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. will face a shortage of specialty care physicians between 21,000 and 77,100 by 2034. The coalition urged Congress to take additional steps now to ensure there are enough practitioners to support an aging population, outlining several recommendations to address the shortages, including:
- Authorizing a loan repayment program to reduce specialty physician shortages;
- Reauthorizing the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Payment Program; and
- Increasing the number of Medicare-funded residency training slots.
Click here to read the Alliance of Specialty Medicine letter.
