Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) · Senate: Sens. Warnock, Collins, Schumer
WHAT IT SAYS
Adds 14,000 new Medicare-funded residency positions over seven years — 2,000 per year — breaking the cap frozen since 1997. At least 10% of new slots are directed to hospitals in rural areas, health professional shortage areas, and those affiliated with historically Black medical schools.
WHERE IT STANDS
Introduced July 2025. Referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means. Broad bipartisan and medical establishment support — still sitting in committee.
WHAT WE LIKE
The HBCU-affiliated hospital priority is real and matters. More slots with equity guardrails is better than more slots without them. Bipartisan support improves its odds.
WHATS MISSING
More slots mean nothing if programs can still dismiss Black residents at higher rates to fill them. No demographic data collection, no attrition reporting, no oversight of who gets placed — or pushed out — from new positions.
For this bill to deliver on equity, it would need amendments requiring demographic data collection and attrition reporting as a condition of receiving new slots, and an expanded HBCU hospital set-aside. Without those additions, it grows the pipeline without fixing the leak.
RELATED INSIGHTS
