Sponsors (3)
The bill expands and extends grant-supported community-based clinical training to strengthen the rural/underserved clinician pipeline and program sustainability, but its benefits will be uneven, may impose administrative burdens on small sites, and require additional federal spending to scale broadly.
Rural and other medically underserved communities will likely see increased access to clinicians trained in local settings, improving availability of care.
Medical students will gain more community-based clinical training opportunities in rural and underserved areas through 1–5 year HRSA grants, increasing hands-on training in community settings.
Grants require sustainability and quality-improvement plans, promoting longer-term program viability and higher care quality after federal support ends.
Because benefits depend on competitive grant awards, not all underserved communities or medical schools will receive funding, so impacts will be uneven and some areas may see little immediate improvement.
Smaller or rural training sites may face increased administrative and reporting burdens to apply for and manage grants, which could limit their ability to participate.
If Congress provides new appropriations to expand the program, federal grant funding could increase taxpayer costs.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes HRSA grants to consortia of medical schools and rural/underserved clinics to expand community-based clinical training for medical students and extends program authority through 2030.
Introduced March 4, 2026 by John R. Curtis · Last progress March 4, 2026
Authorizes the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award 1–5 year grants to eligible consortia made up of one or more allopathic or osteopathic medical schools together with rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), or other health care facilities in medically underserved areas to expand community-based clinical training for medical students. Sets application requirements (project description, need for federal assistance, quality improvement plan, access and sustainability plans, and evaluation) and extends the program authorization period through 2026–2030. Makes conforming statutory edits to add the new grant authority into existing program cross-references and redesignates adjacent subsections to reflect the addition. Does not appropriate specific funding; grant awards would depend on future appropriations and HRSA implementation rules.