S. 2715: Fair Access In Residency Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Fair Access in Residency Act of 2025, proposes changes to the requirements that hospitals must meet for their medical residency training programs under the Social Security Act. The key points of the bill include:

Data Submission Requirements

Hospitals with approved medical residency programs will be required to submit specific information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding applicants to their residency programs. This information must include:

• The number of applicants from osteopathic medical schools.
• The number of applicants from allopathic medical schools.
• The number of applicants accepted from each type of medical school.
• An affirmation that the hospital's policy is to consider applicants from both types of medical schools.
• If applicable, whether the hospital accepts examination scores from either the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination or the United States Medical Licensing Examination.

Financial Consequences for Non-Compliance

If a hospital fails to submit the required information for any fiscal year starting from 2025, they will face a financial reduction of 2% in their determined amount under previous provisions of the Social Security Act for each year of non-compliance, beginning with discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2026. This creates a financial incentive for hospitals to comply with the new information submission requirements.

Public Disclosure of Information

The Secretary of Health and Human Services is mandated to publish the information provided by hospitals regarding their residency applicants on a public website. This is intended to increase transparency regarding the applicant demographics of residency programs.

Clarification on Medical Education Federalization

The bill explicitly states that it should not be interpreted as federalizing medical education or mandating any residency program to accept a specific number or a certain demographic of students from either osteopathic or allopathic medical schools.

Implementation Timeline

The requirements for hospitals to start submitting information come into effect beginning with the fiscal year 2025, with penalties for non-compliance starting on October 1, 2026.

Overall Aim

The overarching goal of the Fair Access in Residency Act is to promote equitable treatment of applicants from osteopathic and allopathic medical schools in the residency application process, thereby potentially enhancing the diversity and inclusivity of the medical workforce.

Relevant Companies

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