Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Expand Residency Slots and Alleviate Physician Shortages

On June 13, 2025, the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 was introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). This bipartisan legislation—backed by the American College of Radiology, the American Medical Association, and other leading medical organizations—seeks to combat the national physician shortage by increasing the number of Medicare-funded residency positions by 14,000 over the next seven years.

Supporters emphasize that boosting residency capacity is essential to tackling projected physician deficits. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the U.S. could face a shortfall as high as 86,000 doctors by 2036, driven by an aging population and waves of physician retirements. The bill ensures at least 10% of new positions are allocated to hospitals in rural areas, institutions over their current Graduate Medical Education cap, and states hosting new medical schools. It would also formalize the Rural Residency Planning and Development grant program, which provides resources for startup costs, accreditation, faculty recruitment, and training in underserved regions.

Reflecting the urgency of the crisis, Rep. Fitzpatrick stated on June 10, “Access to care begins with access to doctors—and right now, we simply don’t have enough. … This bipartisan legislation delivers a targeted, long-overdue solution by expanding residency training and reinforcing the backbone of our healthcare system” .

This legislation revisits earlier similar efforts in 2019, 2021, and 2023, which ultimately did not pass. A rough cost estimate in 2019 projected this bill would require roughly $10 billion in federal funding over a decade. Meanwhile, a February report from the ACR's Neiman Health Policy Institute predicted that without action, the radiologist shortage could persist into 2055.