Chairman Rick Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 11, to address how federal regulations and administrative burdens are contributing to physician burnout and workforce shortages in health care. The session, titled “The Doctor Is Out: How Washington’s Rules Drove Physicians Out of Medicine,” aims to examine the impact of these issues on patient wait times and access to care.
The hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET at the Hart Senate Office Building, SH-216, with a live broadcast available online.
Witnesses set to testify include Alma Littles, MD, Dean & Chief Academic Officer at Florida State University College of Medicine; Lee Gross, MD, Founder of Epiphany Health Direct Primary Care; Jeffrey Smith, CEO of Piedmont HealthCare and incoming Chairman of the Medical Group Management Association; and Corey Feist, Co-Founder and CEO of the Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.
The Senate Aging Committee examines matters affecting older Americans such as Social Security, Medicare, long-term care and retirement security through hearings and reports (https://www.aging.senate.gov/). The committee also provides resources like a fraud hotline to protect seniors from financial exploitation (https://www.aging.senate.gov/), maintains offices in both the Dirksen and Hart Senate Office Buildings for majority and minority members respectively (https://www.aging.senate.gov/), and has oversight over aging-related federal programs nationwide (https://www.aging.senate.gov/).
Rick Scott serves as chair while Kirsten Gillibrand is the ranking member of the committee (https://www.aging.senate.gov/). The committee regularly oversees programs including Medicare, Social Security and elder abuse prevention by holding hearings and making policy recommendations (https://www.aging.senate.gov/).
