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- Oct 13, 2005
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Dear Colleagues,
Did you know that by the time the Class of 2015 is getting ready to match for residency there will be a shortage of 3,000 residency slots? With the physician shortage projected to reach over 91,000 by the year 2020, increasing class sizes in our medical schools is not enough. We must complete residency training in order to be licensed. Add to that the fact that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka "Super Committee") is considering drastic cuts to Graduate Medical Education (GME), the portion of Medicare funding that helps pay for resident slots, in order to reduce our national deficit.
What can you do about it?
Call or email your representatives in Washington TODAY, November 17, as part of a nationwide effort to have the voices of medical students heard loud and clear. It's easy! Follow the simple steps below to contact your representatives to tell them that the future generation of physicians must have access to residency training. If you only have time for one form of communication then please CALL. Otherwise, please call and email! Here are the directions:
BY PHONE:
1. Call the AMA advocacy hotline. 1-800-833-6354<tel:1-800-833-6354>
2. Provide your zip code.
3. Connect directly or write down the names and numbers of your representatives the hotline provides.
4. When connected, read the following:
"As a medical student from your Congressional District (for Representatives)/state (for Senators), I strongly urge you and your colleagues to preserve Medicare funding for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and adamantly oppose any GME cuts that might be included in a deficit reduction package. GME payments help support a portion of the costs associated with training physicians under close supervision once they complete medical school. They also help the nations teaching hospitals cover a portion of the unique costs of caring for highly complex, seriously ill, and critically injured patients who require a level of clinical expertise and technology usually unavailable elsewhere in the community.
It is imperative that Congress preserve Medicare support for residency training programs (GME) so that we, as the next generation physicians, can fulfill our aspirations of keeping America healthy. In fact, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has, since June 2010, urged Congress to preserveand not cutGME support.
We appreciate the seriousness of our nation's deficit and the work underway by the "Super Committee." However, as our nation faces a physician shortage, along with a record number of new Medicare beneficiaries, it is unwise to reduce support for programs that produce the doctors our seniors will need.
Ple ase urge your colleagues, the Congressional Leadership, the Obama Administration, and the Super Committee to oppose Medicare GME reductions as part of deficit reduction."
5. Tell your friends to do the same.
BY EMAIL:
1. Visit http://www.capwiz.com/AAMC/home/
2. Click on "Take Action"
3. Use a personal email address (not your school email) to fill out the form and send your messages.
4. Tell your friends to do the same.
Join your fellow medical students from all over the country in making a statement. I appreciate you taking the time to help make a difference in the future of our education!
This is a message from the AMA-MSS, we had a teleconference yesterday evening with the National Chair of the AMA-MSS. Please forward on to your colleagues, we are doing the same on the osteopathic side!
Thank you all!
Did you know that by the time the Class of 2015 is getting ready to match for residency there will be a shortage of 3,000 residency slots? With the physician shortage projected to reach over 91,000 by the year 2020, increasing class sizes in our medical schools is not enough. We must complete residency training in order to be licensed. Add to that the fact that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka "Super Committee") is considering drastic cuts to Graduate Medical Education (GME), the portion of Medicare funding that helps pay for resident slots, in order to reduce our national deficit.
What can you do about it?
Call or email your representatives in Washington TODAY, November 17, as part of a nationwide effort to have the voices of medical students heard loud and clear. It's easy! Follow the simple steps below to contact your representatives to tell them that the future generation of physicians must have access to residency training. If you only have time for one form of communication then please CALL. Otherwise, please call and email! Here are the directions:
BY PHONE:
1. Call the AMA advocacy hotline. 1-800-833-6354<tel:1-800-833-6354>
2. Provide your zip code.
3. Connect directly or write down the names and numbers of your representatives the hotline provides.
4. When connected, read the following:
"As a medical student from your Congressional District (for Representatives)/state (for Senators), I strongly urge you and your colleagues to preserve Medicare funding for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and adamantly oppose any GME cuts that might be included in a deficit reduction package. GME payments help support a portion of the costs associated with training physicians under close supervision once they complete medical school. They also help the nations teaching hospitals cover a portion of the unique costs of caring for highly complex, seriously ill, and critically injured patients who require a level of clinical expertise and technology usually unavailable elsewhere in the community.
It is imperative that Congress preserve Medicare support for residency training programs (GME) so that we, as the next generation physicians, can fulfill our aspirations of keeping America healthy. In fact, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has, since June 2010, urged Congress to preserveand not cutGME support.
We appreciate the seriousness of our nation's deficit and the work underway by the "Super Committee." However, as our nation faces a physician shortage, along with a record number of new Medicare beneficiaries, it is unwise to reduce support for programs that produce the doctors our seniors will need.
Ple ase urge your colleagues, the Congressional Leadership, the Obama Administration, and the Super Committee to oppose Medicare GME reductions as part of deficit reduction."
5. Tell your friends to do the same.
BY EMAIL:
1. Visit http://www.capwiz.com/AAMC/home/
2. Click on "Take Action"
3. Use a personal email address (not your school email) to fill out the form and send your messages.
4. Tell your friends to do the same.
Join your fellow medical students from all over the country in making a statement. I appreciate you taking the time to help make a difference in the future of our education!
This is a message from the AMA-MSS, we had a teleconference yesterday evening with the National Chair of the AMA-MSS. Please forward on to your colleagues, we are doing the same on the osteopathic side!
Thank you all!
