Senator Dean Heller and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill designed to address the growing doctor shortage. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States will have a shortage of 34,600 to 88,000 physicians by 2025 and Nevada has been hit particularly hard; reports indicate that Nevada will need to increase its number of physicians by more than 40 percent to keep pace with the national average for the doctor/patient population ratio. The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act would increase the number of Medicare-supported hospital residency positions by 15,000 in an effort to address the looming physician shortage and keep graduates from Nevada’s medical schools in Nevada.