New York (September 8, 2025) - The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) enthusiastically supports the introduction of the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2699), which was introduced in the Senate on September 3rd.
Spearheaded by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, this legislation would reauthorize funding for the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACA).
As Americans live longer, our healthspans can vary significantly and many of us will be diagnosed with chronic diseases as we age. Geriatrics health professionals are experts in preventing, delaying, and managing the chronic diseases that impact many Americans 65 and older. Yet, there are too few such practitioners in the U.S. to meet the needs of older Americans.
The GWEP and GACA Program are the only federal programs designed to address the geriatrics workforce gap through geriatrics training at the community level (GWEP) and increase the number of faculty with geriatrics expertise across disciplines who can integrate geriatrics principles into health professional training (GACA). Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the GWEP and GACA programs are building the geriatrics expertise we need in the primary care, paid caregiver, and family caregiver workforce.