Sen. Collins Speaks About Legislation to Fund Teaching Health Centers
Madam President, I rise today to introduce legislation with my colleague from
In the background of the health care debate, there is another crisis that looms. We are facing a severe shortage of doctors. By 2025, we will need more than 100,000 new primary care doctors to meet the growing demand for health care services across the Country. The shortage is especially critical in rural and underserved communities, which are often those that have been hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. The most significant shortages are in family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and dentistry.
These shortages have reached crisis levels in many places. In clinics and health centers in
For the past six years, one program, the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program, has worked to fill these gaps. This program helps to train medical residents in community-based settings, including low-income, underserved rural and urban neighborhoods. For example, since 2011, the
We need to meet people in the communities in which they live and work. This program is training the next generation of physicians, and has produced real results. When compared with traditional Medicare graduate medical education residents, those who train at teaching health centers are significantly more likely to practice primary care and remain in underserved or rural communities. The numbers speak for themselves: 82 percent of
Teaching health centers are serving Americans from coast to coast. A total of 742 THC residents are serving in 27 states and the
Teaching Health Centers have demonstrated a record of success, and it is imperative that we support them. Our legislation would reauthorize the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program for three years. It would also allow new programs to expand within existing centers and the creation of entirely new teaching health centers.
This bill is widely supported by leading community health and physician organizations, including the
In the face of nationwide physician shortages, our legislation would provide a solution for communities today and a path forward to train the physicians of tomorrow. I urge all of my colleagues to join in support of this important legislation, the Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of 2017.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the letters be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Penobscot
Hon.
THCs currently train more than 742 residents nationally and are providing more than a million patient visits in underserved rural and urban communities. The continuation of this program is vital in all of the communities they are located, and preserving this program is critical to the health of hundreds of thousands around the country. This investment of federal funding in the THCGME program, coupled with private, nonfederal resources, guarantees that every dollar is used exclusively for primary care training, all in community-based settings. Residents trained in community- based settings are three times more likely than traditionally trained residents to practice primary care in a community based setting ensuring that doctors trained in these settings remain in communities where they are needed most.
Penobscot
Thank you for your tireless efforts and leadership in the
Sincerely,
President and CEO.
____
Resurrection Family Medicine,
Hon.
THCs currently train more than 742 residents nationally and are providing more than a million patient visits in underserved rural and urban communities. The continuation of this program is vital in all of the communities they are located and preserving this program is critical to the health of hundreds of thousands around the country. This investment of federal funding in the THCGME program, coupled with private, nonfederal resources, guarantees that every dollar is used exclusively for primary care training, all in community-based settings. Residents trained in community- based settings are three times more likely than traditionally trained residents to practice primary care in a community based setting ensuring that doctors trained in these settings remain in communities, where they are needed most.
Resurrection Health Family Medicine Residency appreciates your leadership on this important issue and is pleased to support your legislation, which is helping to address the doctor shortage that plagues so many communities, both urban and rural.
Sincerely,
Residency Director.
____
Hon.
Hon.
Dear Senators Collins and Tester:
Today, women living in half of all US counties are in areas without an ob-gyn, including one of
Your bill will help alleviate these workforce challenges by ensuring the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program can continue to train ob-gyns and other primary care physicians in an efficient and effective manner. Community-based THCGME medical training programs are critical to filling workforce shortages, as physicians trained through this program are more likely to practice in underserved communities. According to the
Thank you for introducing this legislation to improve access to high quality care for women. Should you have any questions or if we can be of assistance in any way, please contact
Sincerely,
President.
____
Hon.
Hon.
Dear Senators Collins and Tester: On behalf of the
The THCGME program is a vital source of training for primary care residents to help expand access to care in rural and underserved communities throughout the country. These programs, located in 59 teaching health centers in 27 states, currently train 742 residents in much-needed primary care fields including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, geriatrics, and dentistry. The majority of these programs are accredited by the AOA or are dually accredited (DO/MD) programs, supporting nearly 800 osteopathic resident physicians through their training since the program began. And true to the intent of the THCGME program, residents who train in these programs are far more likely to practice primary care and remain in the communities in which they have trained.
As osteopathic physicians, we are trained in a patient- centered, hands-on approach to care that focuses on the whole person, including the physical, mental, and psychosocial aspects of health. Our training and philosophy includes a strong emphasis on primary care--in fact, approximately half of all osteopathic physicians practice in primary care specialties. Given this strong presence in primary care, osteopathic medicine aligns naturally with the mission and goals of the THCGME program that has proven successful in helping address the existing gaps in our nation's primary care workforce.
Your legislation provides much-needed stability through continued funding for the THCGME program, and also creates a pathway for the expansion of existing centers as well as the creation of entirely new teaching health centers. We deeply appreciate your commitment to training the future of the primary care workforce and thank you for introducing this important legislation. The AOA and our members stand ready to assist you in securing its enactment into law.
Sincerely,
President.
____
Hon.
Hon.
Dear Senators Collins and Tester: On behalf of the
To help sustain this important program the proposed legislation provides suitable funding for current Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) programs to help address the crisis-level shortage of primary care physicians. The funding level included in the bill will allow for a per resident amount to be paid for training that is on par with the
The current authorization for this vital program expires at the end of this fiscal year. Without legislative action, the expiration of this program would mean an exacerbation of the primary care physician shortage, and a lessening of support for training in underserved and rural areas. We are grateful to you both for your exceptional leadership in supporting and sustaining this vital program by introducing this bill and helping to shepherd it toward enactment.
The CAFM organizations and our members are pleased to work with you to secure this legislation's enactment.
Sincerely,
Stephen A Wilson, MD,
President,
President,
Karen B Mitchell, MD,
President,
President,
____
Hon.
THCs currently train more than 742 residents nationally and are providing more than a million patient visits in underserved rural and urban communities. The continuation of this program is vital in all of the communities they are located and preserving this program is critical to the health of hundreds of thousands around the country, particularly those who lack access to healthcare absent their local community health center and its providers. This investment of federal funding in the THCGME program, coupled with private, nonfederal resources, guarantees that every dollar is used exclusively for primary care training, all in community-based settings.
Residents trained in community-based settings are three times more likely than traditionally trained residents to practice primary care in a community based setting ensuring that doctors trained in these settings remain in communities where they are needed most. Some 70% of our residency's over 100 graduates practice in MT, a state with widespread provider shortage areas and multiple counties with no medical care provider at all.
Sincerely,
President & CEO / Health Officer.
Attorney General Chris Carr Announces Medicaid Fraud Settlement With United States Attorney for the Middle Disctrict of Georgia
Dishonest Dean Got ‘Bought Off’ After All – in Exchange for Super PAC Money
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News