# Understanding the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2021

Right now, many parts of the country don't have enough general surgeons to meet people's needs. Rural areas especially struggle—they only have enough surgeons to handle about 69 percent of the demand for surgical care, while suburban areas can only meet about 75 percent of what's needed. The government expects this problem to get worse, with a shortage of between 17,000 and 28,000 surgeons across all surgical specialties by 2033. This bill tackles that problem by trying to figure out exactly where these shortages are happening and how bad they really are.

The bill asks the federal government to study and create a better system for identifying which areas have a shortage of general surgeons. Currently, the government uses a general system called "health professional shortage areas" to identify where doctors are needed, but this system wasn't designed specifically for surgeons and may not accurately show where surgery services are lacking. The bill directs the government to develop a new, more precise method that looks at things like how many surgeons are actually practicing in each area, how far patients have to travel to reach them, how long people wait for surgery, and whether hospitals have surgical capabilities but no surgeon on staff.

Within a year, the government must report back to Congress with its findings and propose a new way to officially designate "general surgery shortage areas." If approved, this new system would be regularly updated to keep track of where shortages exist. The goal is straightforward: by better identifying where surgeons are needed most, the government can then use that information to direct resources, training programs, and incentives to those areas. For patients in rural and underserved communities, this could eventually mean shorter wait times for surgery and better access to surgical care. For the medical community, it provides clearer data about where to focus workforce development efforts.

Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2021

Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2021 This bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to study access by underserved populations to general surgeons. Specifically, HRSA must study (1) whether the health professional shortage area designation under the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program accurately assesses adequacy of access to general surgeons, (2) whether another measure would be more accurate, and (3) potential methodologies for designating general surgery shortage areas. (The NHSC provides scholarships and student loan repayment awards to primary care, dental care, and mental health care providers who agree to work in areas that HRSA designates as having a shortage of those particular types of providers.) HRSA must also publish data comparing the availability and need of general surgery services in urban, suburban, and rural areas. On the basis of its study, HRSA may establish a methodology for designating general surgery shortage areas and make such designations. If any designations are made, HRSA must publish a list of general surgery shortage areas.