Sponsors (123)
The bill expands Medicare-supported residency slots and commissions a targeted GAO study to better align workforce policy with need—potentially improving physician supply and access in underserved areas—while increasing federal health spending and creating eligibility and administrative rules that may disadvantage smaller hospitals and delay immediate relief.
Hospitals can receive up to 2,000 additional Medicare-supported residency FTE positions per year (2026–2032), directly increasing training capacity for new physicians.
Rural, low-income, and other underserved communities could gain more health professionals and improved access over time if new slots and subsequent GAO-informed policies are targeted to local shortages.
The bill sustains existing over-capacity training programs (reserving one-third of new positions for hospitals already above limits) and requires at least 25% of awarded FTE residents be in primary care or general surgery for five years, promoting training in high-need specialties.
Expanding Medicare GME positions (and potentially implementing GAO recommendations later) increases federal Medicare spending and could raise costs borne by taxpayers.
Smaller and newer hospitals may be excluded or face operational and financial burdens because of eligibility thresholds (e.g., minimum excess resident counts, program caps), required commitments to add slots, and obligations to maintain specific training mixes.
Administrative complexity — multiple allocation categories, application rounds, and fill‑rate determinations — increases CMS workload and could delay awards or on-the-ground implementation.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds up to 2,000 Medicare-supported residency FTEs per year (FY2026–2032), expands hospital resident limits, establishes annual award rounds, and orders a GAO study on workforce diversity.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Terri Sewell · Last progress July 23, 2025
Creates a multi-year program to add up to 2,000 additional Medicare-supported residency positions (full‑time equivalent, FTE) each year for fiscal years 2026–2032, expands hospitals' resident limits for affected cost-reporting periods, reserves one-third of new slots for hospitals already over their resident limit, and establishes annual application rounds and rollover of unused positions. Also directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress within two years on strategies to increase diversity in the health professional workforce, with emphasis on rural, lower-income, and underrepresented minority communities.