SUBJECT: COVID-19 and Graduate Medical Education Funding
Dear Administrator Verma:
On behalf of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Neurological
Surgeons, American Board of Neurological Surgery, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Society
of Neurological Surgeons, we are writing to make you aware of a potential threat to residency training
programs caused by the COVID-19 shutdown.
As you know, graduate medical education (GME) is primarily financed by Medicare with direct GME
funds (DGME). Each teaching hospital has a limit (cap) on the number of positions based on several
metrics. When a new teaching hospital opens, it has a five-year period during which it must establish
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited positions. The process of applying
for, receiving accreditation and matching residents to these positions is time-consuming — requiring a
minimum of three years.
Read full letter here
