CMS is funding the creation of 200 new residency spots at 100 U.S. teaching hospitals located in underserved communities. The goal is to help bolster the healthcare workforce in these areas and increase patients' access to care, the agency said Jan. 9.
CMS awarded the Medicare-funded direct graduate medical education slots to teaching hospitals in 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. About three-fourths of residency spots are for primary and mental healthcare.
The actions are part of CMS' broader initiative to fund 1,000 physician residency slots over the next five years, as established in its Fiscal Year 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule. The agency plans to phase in 200 slots annually to hit this target.
The application period for the residency slots will open in a few weeks, with the first residents set to start training July 1.
Learn more here.