U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Susan Collins Introduce Bill to Build Health Care Workforce in Rural Areas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced 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 2 percent of residency training occurs in rural areas, and in Minnesota, 80 percent of counties qualify as mental health professional shortage areas. The Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2024 will help address the health care provider shortages by supporting the training of more clinicians in rural areas.

"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."

"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."

In 2023, almost two-thirds of rural areas faced a shortage of primary care physicians, but only 2 percent of physician residency programs occurred in rural communities. 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.

Read the full text of the bill here.

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