Sponsors (3)
The bill aims to strengthen tribal graduate medical education and increase access to clinicians in tribal communities by creating an IHS Office and interagency coordination, but it requires ongoing federal funding and reporting that add costs and administrative burden and may limit impact if funds are inadequate.
Tribal communities (and rural tribal patients) are likely to gain more local physicians because the bill creates IHS-run residency and fellowship pipelines, improving access to care in underserved areas.
Medical students and trainees will have more coordinated elective rotations and education tracks through IHS, increasing hands-on training opportunities in tribal health settings and strengthening the pipeline of clinicians interested in tribal care.
The bill establishes a central Office and an interagency working group (with VA, Labor, HRSA, CMS) to provide administrative coordination, oversight, and access to federal resources and best practices, which should improve recruitment and retention of IHS clinical staff and sustain graduate medical education efforts.
Taxpayers and federal appropriators face ongoing costs because the Office is authorized at roughly $4 million+ per year, increasing federal spending if those funds are appropriated.
If funding is insufficient or inconsistent, the planned residency/fellowship programs and pipelines may underperform or stall, limiting the expected improvements in tribal health care access.
Quarterly reporting requirements for the interagency working group could create additional administrative burden and divert federal and IHS staff time away from clinical program development.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an IHS Office of Graduate Medical Education to expand and coordinate residency/fellowship pipelines and authorizes $4M/year (subject to appropriations).
Introduced June 2, 2025 by Melanie Ann Stansbury · Last progress June 2, 2025
Creates a new Office of Graduate Medical Education inside the Indian Health Service to build and run residency and fellowship pipelines that recruit and keep clinicians serving Tribal communities. It requires an interagency working group to help implement and sustain the programs and authorizes at least $4 million per year (starting FY2027) subject to appropriations.