Dr. Kevin Grumbach was invited to testify at a special round table hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on February 12, 2008 to address critical issues confronting the primary care workforce. In his testimony, Grumbach noted that “Primary care is essential, and it is in crisis. Decisive action is required by the federal government to avert the collapse of primary care and its catastrophic consequences for the public.”  He cited evidence demonstrating that Title VII Primary Care Training Grants are associated with more physicians entering primary care and working at community health centers and other underserved settings. Bruce Steinwald, representing the US Government Accountability Office, also testified at the hearing, stating that “research shows that preventive care, care coordination for the chronically ill, and continuity of care—all hallmarks of primary care medicine—can achieve better outcomes and cost savings. Despite these findings, the nation’s current financing mechanisms result in atomized and uncoordinated system of care that rewards expensive procedure-based services while undervaluing primary care services.”  The text of the hearing testimonies, as well as a streaming video of the hearing, are available at the Committee’s web site at

http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2008_02_12/2008_02_12.html*

* Dr. Grumbach's testimony begins approoximately 50 minutes into the streaming video.