HR5428-119

What This Bill Does

The Medical Student Education Authorization Act of 2025 adds a Public Health Service Act grant program for medical schools preparing students to serve Tribal, rural, and medically underserved communities as primary care physicians. HRSA may award grants to accredited public institutions of higher education located in states in the top quartile of projected primary-care physician shortages. The agency must prioritize institutions in states with at least two Indian tribes or tribal organizations and institutions that have or plan strategic partnerships with tribes, Tribal Colleges or Universities, Federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, Indian Health Service facilities, or primary care clinics. Grant funds may support community-based medical student training, primary-care curricula for Tribal, rural, or medically underserved practice, faculty capacity, partnerships, graduate follow-up plans, recruitment and retention of students from underserved communities, instructor training, residency-transition preparation, and scholarships. Grants may last up to five years, must be at least $1 million annually, may require a nonfederal match of no more than 10 percent, and are authorized at $75 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2028.

Who Benefits and How

Medical students from underserved communities benefit from scholarships and training focused on Tribal, rural, and medically underserved primary care. Public medical schools in shortage states benefit from HRSA grants of at least $1 million per year. Tribal health facilities benefit from priority partnerships that train future primary care physicians for Tribal communities. Rural health clinics benefit from strategic partnerships and a pipeline of medical graduates prepared for rural primary care.

Who Bears the Burden and How

HRSA workforce staff must administer eligibility, priorities, grant amounts, matching rules, and program oversight. Public medical school grant recipients must track activities, partnerships, recruitment, retention, faculty capacity, and graduate follow-up. Federal taxpayers fund $75 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2028. Medical schools outside top-shortage states are excluded from eligibility.

Key Provisions

• Creates HRSA medical education grants for primary care service in Tribal, rural, and medically underserved communities.
• Limits eligibility to accredited public institutions in top-quartile primary-care shortage states.
• Prioritizes states with at least two Indian tribes or tribal organizations and relevant strategic partnerships.
• Funds community training, faculty capacity, partnerships, recruitment, retention, residency preparation, and scholarships.
• Authorizes $75 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2028.