People need health care, and health care needs doctors.
AAMC Urges Congress to Pass Reform Bill
The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals believe that
ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, quality health
care is a moral imperative for our nation and the first step that
must be taken to achieve meaningful reform of our health system.
That first step is at hand. We urge the House of Representatives
to pass the Senate health care reform bill so that Congress can
move quickly to address remaining issues in a companion bill. Moving
forward will help provide health insurance coverage to more than
31 million Americans who currently lack it.
The AAMC looks forward to working with Congress and the administration
on subsequent efforts to improve our nation's health care system
so that it provides all Americans with high-quality, high-value,
patient-centered care.
AAMC
Letter to President Obama Supporting Health Insurance Reform
(PDF, 1) March 12, 2010
Congress must address the physician shortage
- Medicare support for physician training has been frozen since
1997
- Physicians per capita will decrease without an expansion in
physician training
- Shortages of at least 125,000 physicians expected by 2025; expanding
access to insurance will exacerbate that shortage
It can take up to 14 years to educate and train a new doctor -
Congress must act to assure access to physicians in the future
- Senate amendment 2909 (SA 2909) would produce an additional
40,000 physicians over the next 10 years
- 19 Senators co-sponsored SA 2909
- 133 Representatives asked for similar language in a letter to the to President, Speaker, and Majority Leader
- Physicians and hospitals support SA 2909
- American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- American College Physicians (ACP)
- American College of Surgeons (ACS)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Organization of Student Representatives (medical students)
How
to Fix The Doctor Shortage Wall Street Journal January 4,
2010
Congress must lift the cap on physician training (GME)
The health care reform bills passed by the House and Senate take
important steps to strengthen primary care and general surgery training
programs but don't significantly increase in the physician workforce
because they do not increase Medicare support for GME.
Learn
more about the physician shortage
Academic medicine is the backbone of America's health care system.
The U.S. health care system faces a crisis of access, cost and
quality. The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals play
a pivotal role in making affordable care accessible to all and are
actively working with Congress and the Obama administration to achieve
meaningful reforms.
Learn more about Principles for U.S.
Health Reform
AAMC compares health care reform bills
Side-by-side comparisons of AAMC recommendations and House and
Senate proposals regarding issues of particular interest to medical
schools and teaching hospitals.
Comparison of Medicare and Medicaid
Provisions in Health Reform Bills (PDF) March 11,
2010 - Updates expected.
Comparison of
Title VII Reauthorization Provisions in Health Reform Bills (PDF) December 29, 2009
AAMC
Reiterates Health Reform Positions in Letter to Senate Leaders (PDF) October 27, 2009
In the News
Supplying
The Demand For Primary Care Doctors
NPR, December 6, 2009
Doctor
Shortage Ahead
WUSA9, November 20, 2009
More
Insured, Not Enough Doctors?
The National Journal, November 17, 2009
Doctor
Shortage
The Hill, November 17, 2009
Crusading
Professor Challenges Dartmouth Atlas On Claims of Wasteful Health
Care Spending
Kaiser Health News, November 16, 2009
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