Senate HELP Committee to Hold Hearing on Healthcare Workforce Shortages

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing this week on the nation’s healthcare workforce shortages, continuing Congress’ attention to this critical issue. The hearing will be able to view live at 10:00 am Eastern time on Thursday, February 16.

As one of the College’s top federal legislative priorities, the ACS has long maintained that a shortage of general surgeons is a critical component of the crisis in the healthcare workforce.  Only surgeons are uniquely trained and qualified to provide certain necessary, lifesaving procedures. In areas without general surgeons or with an insufficient surgical workforce, patients in need of care must travel to a place with surgical capabilities, leading to delays in care and potentially suboptimal outcomes.

A congressionally mandated 2020 report conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration examined surgical shortage areas and showed a maldistribution of the surgical workforce, with widespread and critical shortages of general surgeons, particularly in rural areas.

The College looks forward to continuing to work with Congress on policy solutions to the nation’s healthcare workforce challenges.