Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., asked for the governor’s support on her legislation aiming to ease Nevada’s doctor shortage.
The Physicians for Underserved Areas Act would change the Graduate Medical Education process to give residency programs in Nevada and other areas with severe physician shortages a greater chance of gaining more medical residency slots that become available when a hospital closes.
On Friday, Lee sent a letter to Gov. Joe Lombardo asking for him to endorse the bill, which Lee introduced in January alongside Ohio Republican Rep. Troy Balderson and Sen. Jacky Rosen introduced in the Senate.
“This bill would be a critical step in bringing more doctors to Nevada’s communities in need and addressing Nevada’s severe provider shortages,” Lee wrote.
The governor’s office said it has received Lee’s letter and is in the process of reviewing the legislation. In the coming weeks, the governor will also be unveiling his own health care legislation, which also addresses graduate medical education.
Lombardo previously endorsed the Democratic congresswoman’s legislation the Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts (AACE) Act that aimed to remove red tape on new housing and infrastructure projects.
All 17 counties in Nevada are designated as having a shortage of doctors, and the state would have to hire 1,500 primary care physicians to reach the national average, Lee said in an interview.
A fixed number of newly graduated physicians are allotted to resident-training hospitals every year, and they’re generally concentrated in areas that have more established medical schools, Lee said.
When a hospital closes down, their Graduate Medical Education slot should be awarded to areas with doctor shortages, Lee said.
“For every 10 medical students that we educate in Nevada, we only have seven GME slots,” Lee said.
Three of those students are going to get their residencies in other states, where they are more likely to settle and practice, Lee said.
“The point of the bill is just to encourage more GMEs in our state,” she said.
Lee also introduced the bill in 2022, but it died in the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.