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- CAP Asks Senate HELP Committee to Pass Health Care Workforce Fixes
On February 16, the Senate Health, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on health care workforce shortages, and while the scope of this hearing spanned the entire health care workforce, Senators and witnesses primarily focused on shortages in relation to nursing. This hearing prompted HELP Committee Chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ranking Member, Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), to circulate a request for information to industry stakeholders, including the CAP, to identify what we believe are the drivers of the workforce shortage and potential bipartisan solutions that could remedy it. Therefore, the CAP has urged Congress to recognize and address pathology workforce shortages.
Specifically, the CAP asked Congress to pass the soon to be reintroduced Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, which would address the physician shortage by providing 14,000 new Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions over seven years. Other recommendations included:
- Draft and pass legislation that would reserve a certain number of Medicare-supported GME positions specifically for pathology;
- Pass the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act (S. 665);
- Pass the Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care Act (S. 705):
- Draft and pass legislation establishing options for student loan repayment and greater physician visa waiver flexibility for forensic pathologists;
- Pass the Resident Education Deferred Interest Act (S. 704/H.R. 1202);
- Oppose legislation that would expand the scope of practice for non-physician practitioners; and
- Establish a National Health Care Workforce Commission.
The CAP will continue to advocate on the health care workforce shortage throughout 2023, including at our April Hill Day. Stay tuned for more updates.