MGMA endorses legislation establishing new GME slots (March 13, 2024)

March 13, 2024 
 

Dear Representatives Schneider, Kuster, Valadao, Carey, and Kelly:

On behalf of the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Advocacy Coalition, the over 40 undersigned organizations offer our support for the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act of 2024 (H.R. 7050). This thoughtful, bipartisan legislation would provide Medicare support for an additional 1,000 new graduate medical education (GME) positions over five years in hospitals that have, or are in the process of establishing, accredited residency programs in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, or pain medicine and their prerequisite programs. We greatly appreciate your commitment to advancing policies that would strengthen and expand the health care workforce serving on the front lines of the nation’s addiction and overdose epidemic.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2022 only 24% of patients aged 12 or older who needed treatment for a substance use disorder received that treatment.1 Additionally, more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. in the 12 months ending in February 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.2 This crisis is compounded by a physician shortage that could reach up to 124,000 physicians by 2024. It is clear that we must act to train more physicians in order to meet the needs of patients across the country. This legislation can help us meet this need and strengthen the physician workforce by funding new, targeted residency positions.
 

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