GNYHA Member Participates in Congressional Briefing on Physician Workforce

Intealth, the parent organization of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, sponsored a Congressional briefing last week on the contributions of international medical graduates (IMGs) to the health workforce. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) hosted the briefing. Michael Leitman, MD, Dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, joined a panel discussion on behalf of GNYHA with policy leaders from the American Medical Association and the Missouri Department of Health. Dr. Leitman discussed the role of IMGs in teaching hospitals in providing patient care and contributing positively to the GME learning environment in GNYHA’s four member states and across the country. He and the other panelists also highlighted legislation that would increase the cap on Medicare-reimbursable residency positions, including the GNYHA-supported Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2023, and efforts to expand the Conrad State 30 waiver program, which gives each state up to 30 waivers to the two-year return home requirement for physicians training in the US on J-1 visas.