The Workforce

The United States is facing a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, exacerbated by an aging physician population, rising rates of physician burnout, and early retirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the vital role of pathologists and the value that they bring to medicine. The expertise they provide drives treatment decisions that optimize outcomes for patients. Now more than ever patients and their treating physicians are relying on the expertise of pathologists, which makes addressing the physician shortage even more crucial. The CAP is projecting a substantially lower supply of trained pathologists in the short and long-term and congressional action needs to be taken in order to mitigate this.

Ongoing Legislative Efforts

In March of 2023, the CAP sent a letter to the Senate HELP committee outlining legislative solutions to address the health care workforce shortage. This includes passing the following legislation:

• The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act is a bill to gradually provide 14,000 new Medicare-supported GME positions over seven years.
• The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act would extend authority for the Conrad 30 Program for three years and increase the number of waivers for a state from 30 to 35.
• The Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act would allow physicians to defer their federal student loans interest-free during their residency or internship.
• The Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care (SPARC) Act would establish a new loan repayment program designed specifically for specialty physicians, allowing them to practice in a rural area for six years in exchange for student loan forgiveness of up to $250,000.
• Any legislation to establish options for student loan repayment and greater visa waiver flexibility for forensic pathologists.

Additionally, during the CAP's 2024 Hill Day on April 16, pathologists spoke to their Representatives and Senators about the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act and urged them to support the bill.

Take Action and Urge Congress to Add More GME Positions

Asking Congress to take action on an issue works better with significant engagement by CAP members with their respective members of Congress. The CAP has asked its members to contact their members of Congress to urge passage of the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act. You can contact them here. For more information, review our issue brief.

Listen to “The Importance of Conrad 30 to Pathology” recorded in March 2024, this podcast features Andres Romero, MD, FCAP discussing the Conrad 30 waiver program and what it means to physicians like him.