The federal agency is creating 200 new residency slots every year over a five-year period.
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the first 200 of 1,000 Medicare-funded physician residencies to bolster the physician workforce and add physicians at hospitals serving underserved communities.
The new residencies are designed to improve health equity and access to care. The emphasis of the new residencies is on primary care and behavioral health, with 125 of the residencies for primary care and 20 of the residencies for psychiatry.
The residencies target critical needs, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a prepared statement. "These graduate medical education residency slot awards will help address access to care challenges and workforce shortages in the highest need areas. The majority of the positions are for primary care and mental health specialists, who are the foundation of our healthcare system. I encourage potential applicants to apply to our next application period, which opens in just a few weeks."
The next application period closes on March 31.
The Fiscal Year 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule created 1,000 new Medicare-funded physician residency slots to qualifying hospitals authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. There will be 200 slots phased in per year over five years.
For the new residencies, CMS prioritized hospitals with training programs in geographic areas with greatest need for additional clinicians, as determined by Health Professional Shortage Areas. The new residencies were awarded to 100 teaching hospitals across 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. They will be effective July 1, 2023.
The new residencies will enhance the physician workforce and boost health equity, Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD, CMS deputy administrator and director for the Center for Medicare, said in a prepared statement. "Prioritizing these awards to areas that need the most support will bolster the workforce while also arming new providers with a unique understanding of the specific needs of these communities. This is critical in advancing our goals of providing high-quality care to all people."
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Christopher Cheney is the CMO editor at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The new residencies are designed to improve health equity and access to care.
The emphasis of the new residencies is on primary care and behavioral health, with 125 of the residencies for primary care and 20 of the residencies for psychiatry.