S. 5612: GME Transparency Act of 2026

This bill would require certain hospitals that receive Medicare payments for direct graduate medical education costs to report information about the citizenship and immigration status of their medical residents.

What hospitals would have to do

Hospitals that are paid by Medicare for training medical residents would have to submit deidentified information each year about the residents in their approved training programs. The bill says the Department of Health and Human Services would decide exactly what data is needed, but the purpose would be to support a report to Congress.

What the federal government would do

Using the information collected from hospitals, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to send Congress an annual report. That report would show, by state, how many and what percentage of residents in these programs fall into each of these categories:

• U.S. citizens
• Lawful permanent residents
• J-1 visa holders
• H-1B visa holders
• People who are otherwise lawfully present in the United States

Timing

The hospital reporting requirement would begin with the first fiscal year after the bill becomes law. Hospitals would have to file the required information within 180 days after the end of each fiscal year, and the federal report to Congress would be due within 270 days after the end of each fiscal year.

Effect on residency programs

The bill would also change Medicare rules so that a hospital’s residency or other postgraduate medical training program would not count for this Medicare payment category unless the hospital submits the required information.

Relevant Companies

None found