Durbin, Duckworth Announce Cms Funding To Address Physician Shortage In Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded new Medicare Graduate Medical Education funding to support an additional 14 residency slots for hospitals in Illinois. With this new federal funding, five Illinois hospitals will be able to expand their medical training opportunities for new doctors, in order to help address the nation’s physician shortage.
“Our health care professionals are doing their best to meet the demands of our health care system, but additional funding is needed to address staffing shortages and improve health care outcomes,” said Durbin. “With this additional Medicare funding to train new physicians in our state, Illinois hospitals will be able to better address the needs of patients.”
“Doctors and health professionals across Illinois do so much to keep their communities healthy—they deserve to have the resources they need to continue delivering high quality care,” said Duckworth. “I'm proud to announce this funding that will not only help health outcomes in Chicago and Peoria and provide career opportunities, but also help address our state’s physician shortage.”
It is estimated that the United States will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians over the next decade, in part stemming from the strains caused by the pandemic. These workforce shortages harm patient access to care and exacerbate racial and ethnic health disparities. These new federally funded residency slots are part of the initial investment made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The following Illinois institutions have been awarded funding to support additional residency slots:
- The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago
- Swedish Hospital, Chicago
- University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago
- Jackson Park Hospital, Chicago
- UnityPoint Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria
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