14,000 New Doctor Training Slots: Bill Funds Residency Programs to Fight Physician Shortages

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 is straightforward: it aims to fix the doctor shortage by funding more training spots. Specifically, the bill authorizes the creation of 2,000 new, federally funded medical residency positions every year for seven fiscal years, starting in 2026 and running through 2032. That’s a total of 14,000 new doctors getting trained across the country, paid for through Medicare. This is a big deal because the number of residency slots has been capped for decades, even as the population and healthcare needs have grown.

The Math Behind the New Doctors

Think of this as a targeted investment in the healthcare pipeline. The 2,000 annual slots aren't just handed out randomly; they are strategically distributed. One-third of the slots are reserved specifically for hospitals that are already training more residents than their current Medicare cap allows. The catch? To get these dedicated spots, the hospital must commit to training at least 25% of its residents in primary care or general surgery. This provision acknowledges hospitals already doing the heavy lifting and formally funds their existing capacity, but it also locks them into focusing on high-need fields.

The remaining slots are distributed through an application process that heavily prioritizes certain types of facilities. The bill mandates that at least 10% of these general slots go to hospitals in rural areas, hospitals serving Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)—which are places with too few medical professionals—and hospitals in states that have opened new medical schools since 2000. For someone living in a town where the nearest doctor is a 45-minute drive, this is crucial. The goal is to train doctors where they are needed most, increasing the odds they stay there after graduation.

A Dedicated Fund for Rural Health

Beyond the 14,000 slots, the bill creates a new program to actively build up medical training infrastructure in rural America. It establishes grants for planning and developing accredited rural residency programs. A “rural residency program” is defined as one where residents spend over half their training time in a rural setting, focusing on primary care, high-need specialties like psychiatry, or maternal health. Congress is authorizing $12.7 million annually from 2026 through 2030 for these grants. For a small community hospital, this funding means they can actually afford the administrative and teaching costs required to start training new doctors—a massive step toward ensuring local access to care.

Checking the Pulse on Diversity

In a nod to the fact that the healthcare workforce often doesn't reflect the diversity of the patient population, the bill tasks the Government Accountability Office (GAO) with a significant study. The GAO must analyze strategies to boost diversity among healthcare professionals, specifically focusing on increasing the number of workers from rural backgrounds, lower-income communities, and underrepresented minority groups. This study, due to Congress within two years, is designed to provide hard data on what policies actually work, moving the conversation beyond good intentions and toward effective, evidence-based solutions.

The Real-World Impact

If you’re a family trying to find a pediatrician or a senior waiting months for a specialist appointment, this bill offers a long-term solution by increasing the sheer number of available doctors. For hospitals, especially those already stretched thin, the new slots provide immediate relief and necessary funding. However, hospitals that don't fit the priority categories (rural, HPSA, or already over the cap) might find the competition for the remaining slots fierce. Also, the success of the new slots in HPSA and rural areas hinges on the Secretary’s judgment during the application process, which introduces a medium level of administrative discretion. But overall, this bill is a major, funded effort to address a critical national shortage, focusing the investment squarely on the areas and specialties where the need is greatest.