Tell Congress to Reauthorize and Expand the THCGME Program
Published January 22, 2024
By AACOM Government Relations
Advocacy Appropriations Federal Policy GME Healthcare Workforce OME Advocate
The THCGME Program is of vital importance to the osteopathic community and the patients we serve. The current 81 teaching health centers (THCs) across the country train more than 1,000 residents in much-needed primary care fields and oversee approximately one million patient visits annually in rural and underserved communities. Yet THCs face a January 31, 2024 deadline to submit a final number of medical residency slots which they will try to fill between now and Match Day on March 15. It is very difficult for THCs to commit to training medical school graduates without the certainty of a multi-year reauthorization and the proposed funding increases.
Last week, with the help of AACOM and the THCGME Coalition, a bipartisan group of 21 Senators signed a letter to Leaders Schumer and McConnell calling on the Senate to act as soon as possible to pass a multi-year reauthorization of the program. Please join the osteopathic medical education community in urging Congress to pass a multi-year reauthorization of the THCGME Program!