AAMC Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on ACA

Congress Must Increase Funding for Residency Slots to Ensure Access for Newly Insured

Washington, D.C., June 28, 2012—AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act:

“The AAMC is extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has upheld virtually all of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This law is an important step toward an improved health care system that gives all Americans access to the care they need when they need it. However, we are closely examining the court’s ruling as it relates to the Medicaid expansion.

America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals are committed to improving the nation’s health care and have been leading the transformation of health care delivery through innovations in medical education, clinical care, and research. The court’s decision to uphold the ACA allows the important work of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the programs supported by the Prevention and Public Health Fund to continue.

With 32 million newly insured Americans entering the health care system, addressing the nation’s physician shortage—projected to climb to more than 90,000 by 2020—is now more critical than ever. Medical schools have done their part, increasing enrollments during the last six years in response to these shortage projections. But the overall supply of U.S. physicians cannot expand unless Congress increases the number of federally funded residency training positions, a number that has been frozen since 1997.

We urge Congress to move quickly to provide more federal support for additional doctor training to ensure that Americans have access to care—not just an insurance card.”

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 137 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 47 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 128,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students, and 110,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.