Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation today to address the looming shortages of physicians across the country. The Physician Shortage GME Cap Flex Act would give hospitals an additional five years to establish the number of residency positions reimbursed by Medicare and provides targeted assistance to hospitals working in underserved areas, training primary care, and specialties facing shortages.
“Every Nevadan deserves access to high-quality medical care, but our state continues to experience a shortage of health care professionals, including doctors. This bill will allow more physicians to get critical residency training funded by Medicare, which will mean more doctors for our rural areas and more physicians in underserved roles. I’ll continue working in the Senate to do everything I can to ensure Nevadans have access to quality health care,” Cortez Masto said.
“We must focus on training the next generation of health care providers,” Barrasso said. “This is not a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats agree solutions are needed to meet the critical shortages of physicians facing our country. This situation is especially urgent in rural communities. I am proud to help lead this bipartisan effort to expand physician training in the places and specialties needing it most.”
Senator Cortez Masto is dedicated to ensuring all Nevadans have access to affordable and high-quality healthcare services. She introduced sweeping legislation to expand behavioral health services across the country, led legislation to ensure communities, including rural and underserved areas, have access to quality emergency health care, and helped pass the CAHOOTS Act as part of the American Rescue Plan to improve the emergency response to mental health challenges with mobile crisis response teams. Senator Cortez Masto also introduced a bill to protect millions of unemployed and furloughed workers from losing their health insurance in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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