Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to expand residency capacity and build rural/diverse training pipelines to increase physician supply and access in underserved areas, but does so with additional federal spending and risks that resources and slots will flow to better-resourced institutions while imposing administrative requirements.
Patients in shortage and rural areas: the bill expands residency slots so more medical graduates can train, increasing the likely supply of physicians who may serve these communities.
Rural hospitals, clinics, and tribal providers: dedicated funding plus technical-assistance grants make it easier to start and sustain rural residency programs, strengthening local health system capacity and workforce pipelines.
Students from rural, low-income, and underrepresented minority backgrounds: enhanced recruitment and training opportunities improve access to health professions education and increase workforce diversity and cultural competence in care.
Taxpayers and Medicare: expanding GME positions and authorizing $12.7M/year (FY2026–2030) increases federal spending to fund residency expansion and rural program grants.
Smaller and very rural hospitals: benefits and slots (and grants) risk concentrating with larger or better-resourced institutions, leaving some underserved providers without meaningful access.
Hospitals that do not already train substantial primary care/general surgery residents: eligibility and maintenance rules (e.g., 25% primary care/GS requirement) may exclude them from receiving new slots, limiting who benefits.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Adds Medicare-funded resident slots (≈2,000/year FY2026–FY2032, 14,000 target), mandates a GAO diversity study, and authorizes rural residency planning and TA grants ($12.7M/yr).
Introduced June 10, 2025 by Terri Sewell · Last progress June 10, 2025
Creates a multi-year program to increase the number of Medicare-funded resident physician slots and support new rural residency training. For FY2026–FY2032 the Secretary of HHS must add up to ~2,000 Medicare resident positions per year (with a 14,000 aggregate goal and carry‑forward of unused slots), run annual application rounds, and reserve one‑third of each year’s new positions for hospitals already operating over their caps. Requires a GAO study on strategies to boost diversity in the health professional workforce. Establishes a Rural Residency Planning and Development Program and a matching Technical Assistance Program that award renewable grants to create new rural residency programs or rural training sites, authorized at $12.7 million per year for FY2026–FY2030.