On Nov. 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the distribution of 200 new Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions, which were created by Congress under Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021). The 200 new residency positions will help address the persistent physician workforce shortage facing the United States by enabling more medical graduates to complete residency training.
“While this final distribution represents a meaningful step forward, our country remains in desperate need of additional, permanent residency positions to help alleviate the persistent physician workforce shortage,” said AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD. “We look forward to working with policymakers to build on this momentum to ensure every community gets the care it needs.”
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 capped the number of Medicare-supported residency positions at each of the nation’s teaching hospitals. Over the past 30 years, Congress has expanded Medicare-supported GME twice – in 2021 and 2023. In 2022, CMS announced the initial distribution of 200 new residency position awards and has distributed additional positions each subsequent year. This is the final distribution of positions provided by the CAA, 2021. The positions from the CAA, 2023 were awarded in 2025.
Overall, 99 hospitals in 31 states received new residency positions. CMS has identified that approximately 42% of the newly awarded positions will go to primary care and psychiatry residency programs.
The United States is projected to face a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to AAMC data. Demographic factors, specifically a growing and aging population, continue to drive the doctor shortage and impede access to health care for patients.
“We greatly appreciate CMS awarding these new GME slots, which will allow our institutions to immediately help patients in need by strengthening care delivery at academic health systems and teaching hospitals,” said AAMC Chief Health Care Officer Jonathan Jaffery, MD. “We look forward to continuing our work with policymakers to maintain momentum on fully addressing the nation's physician workforce shortage.”
The AAMC applauds efforts by both Congress and CMS to address the physician workforce shortage through this distribution. By increasing the number of Medicare-supported GME positions available, academic health systems and teaching hospitals nationwide can increase the number of physicians they currently train, expanding the physician workforce and helping to address the persistent physician shortage.
“We remain deeply grateful for the ongoing dedication of our AAMC member institutions, our bipartisan champions in Congress, and the GME Advocacy Coalition for their continued commitment to expanding graduate medical education to help increase access to care,” said AAMC Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP. “We must continue to build on this bipartisan success story by increasing investment in Medicare-supported GME. The national shortage remains a crisis, but these new positions have been critical to strengthening the physician workforce. We look forward to working policymakers to expand federal investment in GME. Time is of the essence if we want to improve the health and safety of patients in every community across the country.”
The AAMC urges Congress to build on the historic investments already made through CAA, 2021 and 2023 by passing the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 (H.R. 4731/ S. 2439). This bipartisan legislation would gradually increase the number of Medicare-supported GME positions, enabling critical progress toward growing a sustainable physician workforce to meet the nation’s patient care needs.