HELP Committee Holds Hearing on the Healthcare Workforce; UNE President Testifies

On February 16, 2023, osteopathic medical education (OME) leader University of New England (UNE) President Dr. James D. Herbert testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. During the hearing, “Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?,” Dr. Herbert outlined six strategies to address healthcare workforce challenges including updating the federal GME payment system to allow flexibility for rural residency programs and community hospitals and expanding programs to increase physician training in rural settings. In fact, Dr. Herbert highlighted recent data showing that more than half of UNE’s osteopathic medical students who completed a rotation in a rural community hospital in Maine returned to practice in those areas. Dr. Herbert noted that these types of programs are critical to strengthening the healthcare workforce and encouraged greater investment in these programs. 

In response to the hearing, AACOM submitted written testimony to ensure federal programs support the osteopathic community and how we train, including prioritizing the growth and development of community-based clinical rotations and GME funded residency positions. Addressing healthcare workforce shortages is an issue with bipartisan interest in the divided 118th Congress, so this hearing was likely the first in a series, and additional committees in the House and Senate are expected to undertake similar efforts. View AACOM’s summary of the hearing for more information.