AARP Urges Reforms to Improve Training in Geriatric Medicine

By 2030, nearly 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older. The nation’s health care system needs to be prepared to handle a growing number of older patients as the population ages.

That’s why AARP is calling for U.S. hospitals to emphasize geriatric care when training future doctors.

“An aging population needs physicians who understand their needs,” Bill Sweeney, AARP senior vice president for government affairs, wrote in comments submitted on June 24 to U.S. Senate lawmakers.

The comments come in response to a request for feedback by a bipartisan Finance Committee working group proposing changes to the way Medicare funds graduate medical education. Medicare provides the bulk of federal funding to the nation’s teaching hospitals to offset the costs of training medical residents, and the proposed changes are aimed at addressing shortages and gaps in the health care workforce.

Among other suggestions, AARP urged lawmakers to require training in geriatric care as part of primary care training for the Medicare population. We also called on Medicare to do more to encourage aspiring doctors to specialize in geriatrics.

For example, AARP wants to see geriatric medicine as a specialty with its own allocation of residency slots, rather than as a subspecialty under primary care.

Additionally, we suggested Medicare provide higher subsidies for hospitals offering specialties in geriatrics and other shortage areas.

Out of more than 150,000 residents during the 2022-2023 academic year, only 241 were specializing in geriatric medicine, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“It is not sufficient to assume residents will choose geriatrics following a primary care residency that includes generalized geriatric training,” AARP wrote in the letter to lawmakers. “As many providers as possible should have a baseline knowledge for geriatric care, and there should also be more opportunities for geriatric specialization.”

Our comments build on earlier calls for a greater focus in medical schools on the needs of older adults and for more in-service training in geriatric care for practicing doctors and nurses.

Read our letter and keep up with AARP’s health coverage. For the latest on Medicare, visit our Medicare Resource Center.