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MEDIA ADVISORY – March 23,
1999
Contact: Tim Clarke, Jr., AMSA Director of Public
Relations
Daytime Phone: (703) 620-6600, ext. 207
Mobile: (301)
518-5725
Medical Students Support All-Payer
Approach to
Residency Training
Cardin bill to ensure the quality of
graduate medical education
Reston, VA - US Representative Ben Cardin (D-MD) announced
legislation today that will create a stable funding source for physician
training, save Medicare $1.1 billion, and will increase community access
to primary care doctors. At a Capitol Hill press conference, Dave Grande,
president - elect of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA),
offered the following comments of support for the Cardin All Payer
Graduate Medical Education Act:
"...medical students across the country are concerned about the state
of graduate medical education or residency training in our country.
America demands and deserves the best-trained doctors in the world.
Unfortunately, some would like to undermine the quality of our medical
education system by subjecting funding for residency training to an often
highly volatile appropriations process and by allowing market forces to
drive doctors into high paying medical specialties. Congressman Cardin has
taken steps to combat these forces and maintain the integrity of our
medical education system.
The 30,000 physicians-in-training of the American Medical Student
Association support the Cardin All-Payer Graduate Medical Education
Act which will create financial stability for residency training while
saving Medicare over $1 billion and will prescribe an appropriate number
of doctors for America's communities.
My interactions with senior citizens throughout my medical school
career have taught me the importance, value, and quality of Medicare. AMSA
strongly supports Medicare and innovations that can prolong the life of
this vital institution. By requiring private insurers to pay their fair
share for residency training, the financial burden to Medicare can be
lightened so that medical services can continue for years to come.
Primary care physicians (those trained in general internal medicine,
general pediatrics and family practice) regularly provide direct contact
with patients, cost less than specialists and use preventive medicine
interventions daily. AMSA is promoting primary care through our
coordination of National Primary Care Week; we are happy to see that
Congressman Cardin is also promoting primary care through his All-Payer
Graduate Medical Education Act and we support his efforts in this
arena.
As America's future doctors, the American Medical Student Association
believes that the All-Payer Graduate Medical Education Act will provide an
appropriate, equitable, and stable source of funding for medical education
in our country so that we can continue to receive the worlds best
education and training, participate in cutting-edge research, and most
importantly provide the highest quality of care for the American
public."
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