Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas is cosponsoring legislation that attempts to address a shortage of physicians. Medical school graduates are required to complete residency training to begin practicing, but Boozman says a 1997 cap on Medicare funding has led to a shortage of available residencies in the state.

"We have a situation where we have a lot of people graduating from medical school and then can’t find residencies in Arkansas. So as a result, probably 40 percent of them go out of state. Many of them never come back," Boozman said.

According to the Senator, that’s a key factor of why Arkansas now has among the lowest number of doctors per capita compared to other states. The availability of specialty doctors and physicians in rural areas is especially acute.

Full story: https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-senator-backing-bill-address-doctor-shortage