Dear Senator Menendez, Senator Boozman, and Majority Leader Schumer:
On behalf of the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Advocacy Coalition, the undersigned
organizations offer our enthusiastic support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act
(S. 834). This bipartisan legislation is crucial to expanding the physician workforce and to
ensuring that patients across the country are able to access quality care from providers.
The need for physicians continues to grow faster than supply, leading to an estimated shortfall of
between 54,100 and 139,000 primary care and specialty physicians by 2033. The COVID-19
pandemic has further exposed the significant barriers to care that patients face, and has also
highlighted rising concerns of clinician burnout. This is particularly alarming given that more
than two of five currently active physicians will be 65 or older within the next decade, raising
concerns about the impact of physician retirement. Additionally, the U.S. population is
continuing to both grow and age, and access issues persist in rural and underserved areas. The
physician workforce is a critical element of our nation’s health care infrastructure, and if we do
not address this impending problem, patients from pediatrics to geriatrics and nearly everyone in-between, will find it even more difficult to access the care they need
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