Gallego Backs Bill to Improve Health Care Access in Rural Arizona
PHOENIX, AZ – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) announced his support for the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act of 2023.
“Every Arizonan deserves quality, affordable health care, regardless of where they live. But too many rural Arizonans face challenges accessing that care, including getting routine check-ups or seeing a specialist,” said Rep. Gallego. “I’m proud to back the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act to fix the current disparities disadvantaging rural hospitals and bring more doctors to rural Arizona.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Arizona is short more than 650 primary care physicians. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas. A recent study from Northern Arizona University found that 40% of rural Arizonans worry about health care accessibility.
One of the primary indicators of where a doctor will ultimately practice is the location of their residency. This puts rural hospitals at a disadvantage as they often cannot afford to take on new residents, regardless of need. The Rural Physician Workforce Production Act lifts the current cap on Medicare reimbursement payments to rural hospitals that cover the cost of taking on residents, in order to alleviate the serious disadvantage that rural hospitals face when recruiting new medical professionals.
The bill would also allow Medicare to reimburse urban hospitals that send residents to train at rural health care facilities during a resident rotation, and it would establish a per resident payment initiative to ensure rural hospitals have the resources to bring on additional residents.
Earlier this year, Rep. Gallego held a press conference to discuss Arizona’s pressing physician shortage and tout his support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act. The legislation would expand the number of Medicare-supported medical residency positions by 14,000 over seven years.