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H.R. 4731: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 aims to address the shortage of resident physicians in the United States by increasing the number of residency positions available at hospitals. The bill includes several key components:

1. Increase in Residency Positions

The bill provides for an increase in residency positions for qualifying hospitals from fiscal years 2026 through 2032. Some highlighted points include:

The Secretary of Health and Human Services will have the authority to increase the number of residency positions at hospitals that submit timely applications.
Each fiscal year, the total number of additional positions distributed will be capped at 2,000.
One-third of the positions will be reserved for hospitals that are already exceeding their resident limits.
The bill plans to initiate seven separate application rounds for distributing these positions during the specified fiscal years.
If a fiscal year’s available positions are not fully distributed, the unallocated positions will roll over to the next fiscal year's allocation.
By the end of the seven-year period, if fewer than 14,000 positions are distributed, the Secretary will continue to allocate positions annually until the target is met.

2. Criteria for Hospitals

To qualify for the increased residency positions, hospitals must meet certain criteria:

Hospitals must demonstrate that they train a certain percentage of residents in primary care and general surgery.
Hospitals serving health professional shortage areas will be prioritized for receiving additional positions.
There are specific distribution requirements to ensure that rural hospitals and those in underserved areas are considered.

3. Study and Report on Workforce Diversity

The bill mandates that the Comptroller General conducts a study to explore strategies for increasing diversity in the health professional workforce. This includes:

Analyzing how to effectively increase the representation of health professionals from rural, lower-income, and underrepresented minority communities.
A report with findings and legislative recommendations must be submitted to Congress within two years of enactment.

4. Indirect Teaching Adjustment Payment

The bill also modifies the computation of the indirect teaching adjustment payment for hospitals, ensuring that adjustments for the new residency positions are calculated correctly starting from July 1, 2027.

5. Limitations and Provisions

There are limitations on the number of residency positions a hospital can receive, along with requirements for hospitals to commit to increasing their training capacity. Failure to meet certain ongoing criteria may result in the reduction of the residency limits that were increased under this act.

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Actions

2 actions

Date	Action
Jul. 23, 2025	Introduced in House
Jul. 23, 2025	Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

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