Lawmakers propose radiology-supported bill to address physician shortages
Members of the U.S. House have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing physician shortages nationwide.
Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., are proposing the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025, which is endorsed by the American College of Radiology, AMA and others. The legislation would expand the number of Medicare-supported residency positions by 14,000 over the next seven years, seeking to improve healthcare access in geographies with a dearth of docs.
“This bipartisan legislation was a focus of advocacy efforts by the broader medical community, including ACR, in previous congresses through the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduate Medical Education Coalition,” the college said in a news update Thursday. “It is a key strategy to address the growing physician shortage and improve patient access to care.”
America is expected to face a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to estimates from the AAMC. A growing, aging population, along with a large portion of docs reaching retirement age, are creating a “critical need” to educate and train more physicians, lawmakers noted.
The bill would distribute at least 10% each to categories including hospitals: in rural areas, that are over their Graduate Medical Education cap, and in states with new medical schools. It also would codify the Rural Residency Planning and Development grant program, which helps expand the number of trained physicians in such geographies, ACR noted. This would include covering startup costs, accreditation, faculty development and recruitment.
“Access to care begins with access to doctors—and right now, we simply don’t have enough,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said in a statement June 10. “Communities across the country are already feeling the strain of a growing physician shortage. This bipartisan legislation delivers a targeted, long-overdue solution by expanding residency training and reinforcing the backbone of our healthcare system.”
Members of Congress introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act previously in 2019, 2021 and 2023, but it failed to pass. A “back of the envelope” estimate from the AAMC six years ago said the bill would cost the federal government an additional $10 billion over 10 years.
A study released by the ACR’s Neiman Health Policy Institute in February estimated the radiologist shortage will persist into 2055, absent intervention.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.