The graduate nurse education demonstration-Implications for medicare policy

Despite decades of public and private investment, the United States continues to have a shortage of primary care capacity. Only 2699 graduating U.S. medical students - about 17% of graduates from allopathic and osteopathic schools - matched with primary care residencies in 2016.1 Studies show that nurse practitioners (NPs) provide highquality primary care that is satisfactory to patients, improves access to care in underserved areas, and may reduce costs of care. But although Medicare spends more than $15 billion annually on graduate medical education (GME),2 including training for primary care physicians, it spends very little on clinical training for NPs.