Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2025

Overview

• Bill: H.R. 6468 (119th Congress, 1st Session)
• Title: Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2025
• Purpose: Amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants and technical assistance to establish and support rural residency planning and development, focusing on creating rural residency programs and expanding training in rural areas.

Main Purpose and Intent

• Create and fund programs to increase the number of physicians and other health professionals practicing in rural communities.
• Establish a structured pathway for developing rural residency programs, including adding rural training sites to existing programs.
• Provide targeted technical assistance to current and potential grantees to design and implement rural residency initiatives.
• Align residency training with needs in rural health, including primary care, high-need specialties, maternal health, obstetrics, and other relevant pathways.

Key Provisions and Changes

Section: Rural Residency Planning and Development Programs

• Amends Title III of the Public Health Service Act by adding new provisions (Sec. 330A–3).
• Establishes a Rural Residency Planning and Development Program with grants to eligible entities to:
  • Establish new rural residency programs or expand rural training sites.
  • Allow grants to be fully funded at the time of award.
  • Set a grant term of 3 years, with potential extension at the Secretary’s discretion.
• Eligibility and Pathways:
  • Eligible entities include domestic nonprofits, for-profit entities, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, faith-based or community-based organizations, rural hospitals, rural health clinics, and related health centers.
  • Pathways for residency programs may include:
  • General primary care and high-need specialties (family medicine, internal medicine, preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery).
  • Maternal health and obstetrics (obstetrics and gynecology or family medicine with enhanced obstetrical training).
  • Other pathways determined appropriate by the Secretary.
• Application requirements: Applicants must describe the pathway for the rural residency program as part of the submission.

Section: Rural Residency Planning and Development Technical Assistance Program

• Creates a separate grant program to fund technical assistance for current and prospective applicants under the planning program.
• Grant terms:
  • Technical assistance grants have a 4-year term, with possible extension at the Secretary’s discretion.
  • Grants may be fully funded at award.
• Purpose: Provide support to help entities design, implement, and navigate the rural residency programs described above.

Section: Definitions

• Eligible Entity: Broadly defined to include public/private entities, nonprofits, for-profits, Indian Tribes/organizations, faith-based or community organizations, rural hospitals, rural clinics, and related health education and capacity-building organizations. Includes potential involvement of graduate medical education consortia and institutions of higher education.
• Rural Residency Program: A physician residency program or rural track program accredited by the ACGME (or equivalent) that:
  • Trains residents in rural areas for more than 50% of time.
  • Primarily produces clinicians who will practice in rural areas, as defined by the Secretary.

Section: Appropriations

• Authorization of appropriations for the Rural Residency Planning and Development programs: $12,700,000 per fiscal year for FY 2026 through FY 2030.
• Availability: Amounts remain available until expended.

Who Would Be Affected

• Eligible entities capable of establishing or expanding rural residency programs and/or providing technical assistance (e.g., rural hospitals, health clinics, nonprofits, tribal organizations, medical schools/colleges, and consortia).
• Rural communities and patients who could benefit from increased access to physicians and other health professionals trained specifically for rural needs.
• Medical education systems and accreditation bodies (through alignment with ACGME standards and rural-focused pathways).

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

• Introduction and referral: Introduced December 4, 2025; referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
• Funding horizon: Provisions authorize annual funding from FY2026 to FY2030, with the possibility of extensions at the Secretary’s discretion for individual grants.
• Implementation: Dependent on subsequent appropriations and department rulemaking to establish application processes, eligibility determinations, and pathway specifics.

Notes

• The bill emphasizes both creation of new rural residency programs and expansion of existing rural training sites.
• It couples residency program development with a parallel technical assistance program to build capacity and ensure successful implementation.
• Specifics on prioritization, application timelines, and performance metrics would likely be established in implementing regulations and grant announcements if enacted.