Tennessee and Alabama lead the way to alleviate the impending physician shortage: The United States faces a growing shortage of physicians, particularly in primary care, with estimates projecting a shortfall of as many as 124,000 doctors over the next 12 years. FREOPP Visiting Fellow Grant Rigney makes the case that increased medical school and residency program class sizes alone won’t be enough to meet the country’s growing needs. Fortunately, earlier this year Tennessee and Alabama passed laws that offer one viable solution to combat lack of access to care: expediting international medical graduates’ (IMGs) entry into the workforce by allowing them to practice without repeating residency if they meet certain criteria. Grant argues that requirements that IMGs pass U.S. medical exams and work under supervision for two years addresses critics’ valid concerns about health care standards, making the laws a critical first step in expanding access to health care for all.

The bipartisan proposal to expand workforce training: Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value of a traditional four-year college degree, and a tight labor market means employers are struggling to find skilled workers. In Forbes, FREOPP Senior Fellow Preston Cooper describes the bipartisan efforts to fund short-term workforce training by expanding the use of the government's flagship college-aid program, the Pell Grant. Although Preston cautions that the impacts of the legislation may be limited, he notes that it is an important first step toward more significant reforms and a commendable example of across-the-aisle consensus that will benefit countless Americans looking for opportunity and a chance to build up career skills.

→ Should you need a bachelor’s degree to make $35,000 a year driving the Wienermobile? Preston also tackles the dangerous trend of lower-paying jobs requiring college degrees at FREOPP’s The Tassel and on Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson.

Missouri’s landmark welfare reform provides a new path toward independence: Individuals leaving welfare for work face the highest marginal tax rates in America. The combination of lost benefits, payroll taxes, and new job-related expenses is known as the "benefit cliff," and it discourages work and can leave families trapped in dependency. Earlier this year, Missouri passed a new, bipartisan bill that establishes transitional benefits for recipients of certain welfare programs and gradually phases them out as income increases. FREOPP Senior Fellow Michael Tanner evaluates the legislation and notes that although it may be more costly for the state in the short term, in the long term it offers real potential to fix a persistent problem with the social safety net. Missouri’s law could become a model for tackling the benefit cliff problem and helping residents achieve independence and self-sufficiency. 

A climate of energy abundance: The rising cost of energy is a key driver of the increased costs confronting lower- and middle-income Americans. At Freedom & Progress 2023, FREOPP Resident Fellow Grant Dever sat down with Travis Fisher of the Cato Institute, Drew Bond of C3 Solutions, and Christopher Barnard of the American Conservation Coalition to discuss what we can do to reduce carbon emissions while increasing the supply, consumption, and resilience of U.S. energy. Overall, members of the panel expressed optimism for the future given ongoing innovation in diverse energy sources, and they stressed the importance of unleashing entrepreneurial potential and overcoming regulatory obstacles to meet future energy demands and ensure grid reliability.

Thanks for keeping up with FREOPP, and have a great weekend! 

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