Senators Collins, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Build Rural Health Care Workforce

Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve access to health care and address the physician shortage in rural areas. The Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2024 would authorize the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program to continue providing start-up funding to rural hospitals, medical schools, and other organizations to establish new rural residency programs. Among current medical residency programs, only two percent of residency training occurs in rural areas. Maine has received two Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program Awards to support Maine Medical Center Psychiatry Rural Training Track Program and Maine Medical Center’s Rural Residency in Family Medicine at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

“Expanding residency training opportunities in rural areas will help increase the number of physicians choosing to serve patients in these communities throughout their careers,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan legislation will build on the success of the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program to directly address the health care workforce shortages that continue to challenge rural hospitals in Maine and across the country.”

“When I meet with families, farmers, businesses and Tribal and community leaders in rural Minnesota, one of the first issues that comes up is health care,” said Senator Smith. “There is a severe lack of access to health care in rural communities in Minnesota and across the country, and this bill is the first step to addressing that problem. Establishing more residency programs at rural hospitals and medical schools will incentivize doctors and nurses to work in these areas, help address physician shortages, and ensure Minnesotans living in small towns and rural places have access to the care they deserve.”

The Rural Residency Planning and Development Program was established in 2019 and has supported the creation of 46 new accredited rural residency programs spanning family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry, and general surgery, creating 575 new rural residency jobs in 36 states. Codifying this program into law within the Public Health Service Act would help to create even more residency programs in rural areas, therefore improving access to health care for rural communities across the country.

The complete text of the bill can be read here.

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