By Matthew Holloway |

New legislation designed to address the shortage of doctors in the state of Arizona was signed into law last week after gaining nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the House and Senate. SB 1727, sponsored by Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chair Carine Werner creates a requirement for public university medical schools to offer interviews to all Arizona residents who meet admission requirements.

The theory behind the legislation is that most doctors live in and practice in the state where they earned their degrees and completed their residency, as reported by the American Medical Association (AMA) in a 2019 study.

“If you’ve recently tried to make an appointment with a physician as a new patient, only to be turned away because the office has hit capacity, or if you’ve been forced to wait months just to get an appointment, you know just how serious Arizona’s doctor shortage has become,” explained Werner. “Not being able to access the medical care you need, when you need it, is more than just a frustration — it can easily mean the difference between life and death. SB 1727 being signed into law is a first step in retaining future doctors, instead of exporting them to other states.”

Werner revealed that she, “worked with Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and the Arizona Board of Regents to ensure this proposal can be implemented and will be effective.”

Arizona’s six medical schools, reportedly offer a very limited number of interviews to students who meet all qualifications for entry and per the Senate Republicans, “Those students who do not receive an interview and live in Arizona must look to other states to attend medical school.”

Citing the AMA’s findings that 54.6% of students who complete medical school and residencies out of state don’t return to their home state, but rather make lives where they trained, Werner and her fellow lawmakers reasoned that ensuring these interviews will be available to prospective Arizona medical students “will help expand the pool of qualified, homegrown applicants in our state.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.