The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Jan. 7 opened the application for the fifth and final round of 200 full-time equivalent (FTE) Medicare-supported GME residency positions authorized by Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, P.L. 116-260, PDF). The CAA authorized 1,000 new FTEs, to be distributed to hospitals up to 200 per year until all positions were awarded. Four categories of qualifying hospital are eligible for distributions under Section 126: (1) rural hospitals or hospitals treated as rural, (2) hospitals that are over their Medicare GME FTE cap, (3) hospitals in states with new medical schools or branch campuses, and (4) hospitals in geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). The CMS prioritizes awards based on HPSA score, with hospitals reporting the highest scores in the applicant pool receiving first priority, followed by hospitals with progressively lower scores until all slots are filled.
To date, the agency has awarded 800 FTE positions through the first four rounds of distributions to 206 teaching hospitals. Hospitals can access the application through the CMS Direct Graduate Medical Education (DGME) website under the Section 126 tab or directly through the CMS MEARIS application portal.
The CMS announced the fourth round of Section 126 awards in December. Information about round 4 awards can be found under the Section 126 tab on the CMS DGME website.
- Washington Highlights