Schock co-sponsers legislation to increase number of docotrs
Congressman Aaron Schock introduced bipartisan legislation with Democrat Pennsylvania Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz to ensure there will be enough doctors to meet the needs of the nation. The Training Tomorrow's Doctors Today Act creates 15,000 new Graduate Medical Education, or GME's, slots over five years.
If enacted into law, this would be the first increase in GME slots in nearly 15 years. The number of federally funded residencies has been frozen since 1997.
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015, the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed and that number could rise to as many as 130,000 by 2025.
GME slots are funded primarily by Medicare for the purpose of training medical school graduates in patient settings. In order for these young doctors to become fully accredited physicians, they must undergo a residency program in a specific specialty that lasts from three to seven years.
