Graduate medical education funding crisis

Medicare, the major funding source for graduate medical education, is under intense scrutiny. Some think that Medicare should not continue to overtly pay to train graduate physicians, while others believe continued direct funding is an important social obligation. Recent policy discussions could dramatically transform the way graduate physician training is funded and teaching hospitals are paid. This is an important debate because of the strong influence Medicare has in determining the willingness of other payers to contribute to graduate medical education. Funding reductions are already threatening the viability of the U.S. teaching hospital system.