Communications

(June 28, 2024) – This week, the Kansas Hospital Association submitted comments to the United States Senate Finance Committee regarding a bipartisan working group's Medicare Graduate Medical Education reforms proposal.

The working group solicited stakeholder feedback regarding the proposal outline designed to increase the number of physician residency slots throughout the country, particularly in rural and underserved communities, to address the physician shortage.

KHA supports Medicare GME reform and believes a significant increase in federal investments is necessary for states like Kansas to increase the number of residency programs and the slots in our existing residency programs to train more Kansas physicians, particularly for underserved areas.

Feedback from the association to the working group included suggestions to reform how Health Professional Shortage Areas are calculated, the need for increased reimbursement to enable more hospitals to consider partnering with residency programs or creating new residency programs, incentives necessary to overcome barriers to rural residency programs and the need for technical assistance to aid in the creation of new residency programs, among other items.

KHA's comments have also been shared with the Kansas Congressional Delegation. Please contact KHA if you have questions at (785) 233-7436.
--Jaron Caffrey