Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the bipartisan Opioid Workforce Act of 2021 yesterday. The House will likely introduce a similar version of the legislation soon.
Strongly supported by GNYHA, the Opioid Workforce Act of 2021 addresses the nation’s opioid crisis by funding 1,000 Medicare-reimbursed residency positions in teaching hospitals that have or are in the process of establishing approved residency programs in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, or pain medicine. The bill would increase an extremely vulnerable population’s access to high-quality care and strengthen the physician workforce that serves on the frontlines of the opioid crisis.
GNYHA also supports the bipartisan Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 (H.R. 2256/S. 834), which would increase the number of Medicare-reimbursed residency positions by 14,000 over seven years. This bill would allow teaching hospitals to expand their residency programs across many specialties.
Together, these bills will help teaching hospitals meet local and national workforce needs, including the disciplines needed to address the opioid crisis.
GNYHA thanks Senators Hassan and Collins for their leadership on this important issue and support for graduate medical education (GME). We encourage you to contact Senate offices and ask them to support the Opioid Workforce Act of 2021.