Contact your legislator and ask them to restore critical GME funding.
California is facing a massive shortage of physicians – more than 10,000 are needed statewide by 2030 to keep up with our population’s needs. Physician shortages have a disproportionate impact on areas of the state where the most vulnerable patients need access to primary and specialty care. When there aren’t enough physicians, patients must wait longer and travel further to get the care they need.
Physicians tend to stay in the areas of the state where they train. That’s why programs like CalMedForce, funded through the University of California and administered through Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC), support Graduate Medical Education (GME)/residency programs in underserved regions in our state. Residents in these programs take the next step in their training while providing much needed care to those living in communities most vulnerable to a shortage of physicians.
The Governor’s May Budget Revision proposes to eliminate $75 million for GME this fiscal year from the Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax deal made last summer. He also proposes reductions to CalMedForce to eliminate$13.5 million in FY 2024-25 and $14.3 million in FY 2025-26 from the General Fund to backfill declining tobacco tax revenue.
Requests for GME funding already far outpace the resources the MCO GME and CalMedForce GME programs have available. These funds would not only have supported the launch of new GME programs and new residency slots in existing programs, current programs are now at risk of losing key funding and will likely be forced to reduce the number of residents – who serve a high volume of Medi-Cal patients – trained each year.
Make Your Voice Heard Contact your legislator and ask them to restore critical GME funding. I represent a (current or future) residency program. I’m a resident. I'm a GME stakeholder.
What's at Stake Learn more about state funding for GME programs and what is at stake if these proposed budget cuts pass.
Learn more about state funding for GME programs and what is at stake if these proposed budget cuts pass.