Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025

This bill aims to train more doctors and bring care to places that need it most. It adds 2,000 new Medicare-funded residency slots each year from 2026 through 2032 (14,000 total). If some slots aren’t used, they roll over to later years, and the process continues until all 14,000 are placed. Hospitals apply in yearly rounds; decisions come by January 1, and new positions start July 1 that year . One-third of the slots are set aside for hospitals already training above their cap, and at least 10% of the remaining slots must go to each of these groups: rural hospitals/areas, hospitals already over their cap, hospitals in states with newer medical schools or new branch campuses, and hospitals serving Health Professional Shortage Areas. Extra priority goes to hospitals tied to historically Black medical schools . Hospitals over their cap can receive slots only if they exceed the cap by at least 10 and train at least 25% of residents in primary care and general surgery for five years; otherwise, their increase can be reduced. No hospital can receive more than 75 new positions over 2026–2032 unless there aren’t enough applicants to use all available slots, and hospitals must agree to actually increase their total training positions by the number awarded .

The bill also supports rural doctor training. It funds three-year grants to start or expand rural residency programs—including adding rural training sites—and four-year grants to provide technical help. A “rural residency” trains doctors in rural areas for most of their time and aims to place them in rural practice. The bill authorizes $12.7 million per year for these programs from 2026 to 2030 . It also orders a study on how to build a more diverse health workforce, including growing providers from rural, low-income, and underrepresented communities, with a report due two years after enactment.

Key points

• Who is affected: Patients in rural and shortage areas, medical residents, and hospitals that train doctors.
• What changes: 14,000 new residency slots over seven years; at least 10% of slots to key groups (rural, over-cap hospitals, states with newer medical schools, and shortage areas); one-third reserved for hospitals already over cap; hospitals capped at 75 new slots unless extras remain; rural residency and technical assistance grants; diversity study and report .
• When: Annual application rounds from 2026 to 2032, with decisions by January 1 and new slots starting July 1; rural grants funded 2026–2030; diversity report due within two years of enactment .