Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL), David Valadao (R-CA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mike Carey (R-OH), and Annie Kuster (D-NH) have reintroduced the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act of 2024 (H.R. 7050). The bill addresses the nation’s opioid and substance use epidemic by funding 1,000 Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions in teaching hospitals that have established—or are in the process of establishing—approved residency programs in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, or pain medicine. The slots would be distributed over a five-year period beginning in 2024, and an individual hospital would be limited to receiving no more than 25 slots.
The US faces a projected shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. Demand for psychiatric service providers alone, including those trained to treat addiction and substance use disorders, could exceed supply by up to 15,600 psychiatrists as soon as next year. H.R. 7050 would address this crisis by meaningfully increasing an extremely vulnerable population’s access to high-quality care and bolstering the physician workforce.
GNYHA thanks Representatives Schneider, Valadao, Kelly, Carey, and Kuster for their leadership on this important issue and support for GME. We sent a letter to New York Congressional delegation staff urging them to cosponsor the bill. We also encourage all GNYHA members to ask their Congressional representatives to cosponsor the bill.
Members can use GNYHA President Kenneth E. Raske’s letter of support for the bill and our position paper in their advocacy efforts.