HR3890-119

What This Bill Does

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act increases Medicare-supported graduate medical education slots and adds rural pipeline support. For fiscal years 2026 through 2032, CMS would distribute 2,000 additional residency positions per year, with one-third reserved for hospitals described in the bill and applications handled in seven separate annual rounds. Hospitals receiving positions get increases to their direct graduate medical education and indirect medical education resident limits for cost-reporting periods beginning on or after July 1 of the fiscal year. GAO must study strategies to increase health-professional workforce diversity, including rural, lower-income, and underrepresented-minority communities, and report to Congress within two years. The bill also adds a rural residency planning and development program under the Public Health Service Act. HRSA could award three-year grants, fully funded at award, to public, private, nonprofit, for-profit, Tribal, faith-based, community-based, rural hospital, rural clinic, Indian health, GME consortium, medical school, osteopathic school, HBCU, or other eligible entities to create rural residency programs or rural training sites. Eligible rural residency programs must train residents in rural areas for more than 50 percent of residency time and focus on physicians who will practice in rural areas, with pathways for primary care and high-need specialties.

Who Benefits and How

Teaching hospitals benefit from new Medicare-funded residency cap increases across seven fiscal-year application rounds. Rural hospitals benefit from both potential new GME slots and three-year HRSA planning grants for rural residency programs. Medical residents benefit from additional training positions and rural training pathways. Rural patients benefit if more physicians train in rural areas and remain in rural practice. Medical schools serving underrepresented communities benefit from grant eligibility through GME consortium and HBCU pathways.

Who Bears the Burden and How

CMS GME staff must run seven distribution rounds, calculate added resident limits, and notify hospitals by January 1 of each fiscal year. HRSA rural residency staff must administer planning, development, and technical-assistance grants. GAO workforce analysts must study diversity strategies and report recommendations to Congress within two years. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of additional Medicare GME payments and rural residency grants. Hospitals not selected for additional positions remain constrained by existing resident caps.

Key Provisions

• Expands Medicare GME by 2,000 residency positions per year from fiscal years 2026 through 2032.
• Requires seven annual application rounds and January 1 hospital notices for distributed positions.
• Reserves one-third of new positions for specified hospital categories.
• Directs GAO to study health-workforce diversity strategies for rural, lower-income, and underrepresented communities.
• Creates three-year HRSA grants for rural residency planning, development, and technical assistance.
• Requires rural residency programs to train residents in rural areas for more than 50 percent of residency time.