New Legislative Proposal: Fifty New Medical Schools For More And Better Doctors Act

I am proposing new legislation!

The Fifty New Medical Schools for More and Better Doctors Act,

also known as the  

American Medical Professional Education Reform Act (AMPERA)

 

• OUR MEDICAL EDUCATION SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REFORMED TO PROVIDE MORE AND BETTER DOCTOR
• THIS WILL IMPROVE HEALTH CARE, EXPAND THE ECONOMY, AND HELP REDUCE HEALTH CARE COSTS

• THE PROPOSED REFORM IS TO OPEN FIFTY NEW MEDICAL SCHOOLS, ONE IN EACH STATE,
• AND REDUCE THE TOTAL TRAINING TIME BY STARTING MEDICAL EDUCATION EARLIER THIS WILL BE PAID FOR BY A FIFTY-BILLION DOLLAR GRANT, ONE BILLION FOR EACH SCHOOL, TO SET UP A NEW FACILITY AND SCHOLARSHIPS. 
•   THE NECESSARY FUNDS WILL COME, NOT FROM TAXES, BUT FROM US CORPORATIONS’ OVERSEAS CASH DEPOSITS IN EXCHANGE FOR TAX BENEFITS

• HEALTH CARE COSTS WILL BE REDUCED BY
• STARTING TRAINING EARLIER, SHORTENING THE TOTAL EDUCATIONAL CYCLE
• GRADUATING MORE NURSE PRACTITIONERS
• INCREASING COMPETITION

BACKGROUND:

According to USA Today, a severe doctor shortage is growing worse, and has been predicted to reach up to 200,000 in a few years.

“The country needs to train 3,000 to 10,000 more physicians a year — up from the current 25,000 — to meet the growing medical needs of an aging, wealthy nation, the studies say. Because it takes 10 years to train a doctor, the nation will have a shortage of 85,000 to 200,000 doctors in 2020 unless action is taken soon.”  USA Today Article “Medical Miscalculation Creates Doctor Shortage”

“With a growing, aging population, the demand for physicians will intensify over the coming years.  According to AAMC estimates, the United States faces a shortage of more than 90,000 physicians by 2020—a number that will grow to more than 130,000 by 2025.”

Association of American Medical Colleges Official Website.

We have a shortage of US Medical Schools.  Several states have no medical school whatsoever.

We do not have enough U.S. based medical schools to meet the demand for physicians.

We rely on approximately 25% foreign imports to staff our graduate medical programs.

• According to the American Medical Association:

 “ In 2006, out of 902,053 physicians, 228,665 International Medical Graduates [IMGs] received medical degrees from 127 different countries, accounting for 25.3% of the total physician count.”  AMA Official Website

• According to the American Medical Association, “International Medical Graduates [IMG’s] make up approximately 25% of the U.S. physician population.” AMA Official Website.

Medical education starts too late and takes too long.  In most foreign countries, medical education starts directly out of high school.

SOLUTION:

Congress passes the

The Fifty New Medical Schools for More and Better Doctors Act,

also known as the American Medical Professional Education Reform Act (AMPERA),

Elements of the Proposed Legislation:

• Using the Land Grant College system as a model, Congress sponsors fifty new medical schools, one in each state.Each school is granted $1 billion to establish the facility, hire the faculty, and set up extensive scholarships.

States are encouraged to participate, buying the land and providing matching funds.

• A small agency is set up to establish standards, accredit the schools, and establish a timetable to get them started.

• $50 Billion Funding is provided as follows:
• Donations to a trust fund by U.S. Corporation
• Many US Corporations have multiple billions of dollars in cash, on deposit in foreign countries.  They don’t want to repatriate the funds because of the tax implications.
• Establish a tax credit—for every billion dollars a corporation provides to the trust fund, it can repatriate ten billion dollars (or a minimum number to provide the necessary tax incentive) tax free
• That avoids higher taxes
• Second, and less preferable alternative would be Congressional Appropriation

•  Educational times would be shortened, and each medical school would produce Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, and Registered Nurses, as follows:

• Education starts after 2 years of college preparation.
• Total time to MD Degree = 6 years
• Total time to NP Degree = 5 years
• Total time to RN Degree = 4 years
• Liberal scholarships would be funded

Join me in urging Congress to pass this legislation.