Reps. Terri Sewell, D-AL, and John Katko, R-NY, have introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2019 (H.R. 1763) that would add up to 15,000 Medicare-funded residency positions over five years, reports the American Hospital Association (AHA), and one that is similar to an AHA-supported bill (S. 348) introduced last month in the Senate.
The number of Medicare-funded residency slots has been frozen at 1996 levels since the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would distribute one third of the new positions to hospitals that already exceed their Medicare-funded residency cap by at least 10 residents. The bill would prioritize the distribution of the remaining new residency positions to teaching hospitals as follows:
- hospitals in states with new medical schools or branch campuses
- hospitals affiliated with Veterans Affairs medical centers
- hospitals that emphasize training in community-based settings or hospital outpatient departments
- non-rural hospitals that operate an approved “rural track” program; and all other hospitals.
