The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing February 24 to examine innovative ways to train America's health care workforce, with a focus on serving rural and underserved communities. Testifying before the committee was ACOI member Thomas Mohr, DO, MACOI, Dean, Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, who spoke about the unique and critical role of osteopathic medicine and osteopathic medical education.
"Our nation is facing a very real problem – a rapidly depleting health care workforce,” said Adrian Smith (R-NE), who presided over the hearing. Rep. Smith emphasized the shortage of physicians in rural communities noting that 83 million Americans live in an area with too few primary care physicians.
Dr. Mohr testified that training location is one of the strongest predictors of access to care and is why graduate medical education funding structures should support community-based training. Dr. Mohr also called for transparency in residency selection, highlighting that the ACOI-endorsed Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, (H.R. 2314/S. 2715) would require GME-funded institutions to report annually on the number of DO and MD applicants and accepted residents, and affirm annually that applications submitted with scores from the COMLEX-USA are considered. ACOI members are encouraged to contact their members through the ACOI Action Center and ask them to cosponsor the FAIR Act.