Wenstrup sponsors bipartisan legislation addressing physician shortages

U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) on Dec. 7 proposed a bipartisan bill that would provide rural and urban hospitals with more flexibility to form partnerships for cross-training medical residents.

“Rural Ohioans are experiencing firsthand the difficulties posed by physician shortages, and the pandemic has only worsened the problem. We know that doctors frequently practice medicine in the area in which they completed their residency programs,” Rep. Wenstrup said on Monday. “Therefore, we need to remove barriers to physician training in rural areas.”

Rep. Wenstrup sponsored the Rural-Urban Physician Workforce Act of 2020, H.R. 8892, with cosponsor U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL). The lawmakers both co-chair the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s Rural and Underserved Health Task Force.

If enacted, H.R. 8892 would amend the Social Security Act to support rural residency training funding and promote partnerships with urban teaching hospitals, according to the text of the bill, which has been referred to both the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.