Bill > HR1153

This bill aims to support rural physician workforce development by creating a new payment mechanism for hospitals that train medical residents in rural locations. Specifically, the bill establishes an "Elective Rural Sustainability Per Resident Payment Amount" that provides additional financial support to hospitals for each full-time resident training in a rural setting. Hospitals can elect to receive this payment if residents spend at least 8 weeks training in a rural location, with more generous provisions for programs where over 50% of training occurs in rural areas. The payment amount is based on the median national direct graduate medical education (GME) training costs from 2015, updated annually for inflation. The bill also modifies existing Medicare rules to encourage rural medical training by allowing hospitals with rural tracks to have additional residents not count against traditional residency training caps. Critical access hospitals and sole community hospitals are given special considerations, and the legislation includes a budget neutrality requirement to ensure the new payments do not increase overall Medicare spending. The goal is to incentivize medical training in rural areas, which often struggle to attract and retain physicians, by providing financial support to training programs and hospitals that invest in rural medical education.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1153/all-info