Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Increase Transparency in Residency Program Criteria for Medical School Graduates

Strategic Insights -

U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, Steve Daines, and Angus King introduced the Fair Access in Residency (FAIR) Act, legislation aimed at promoting transparency in residency criteria for medical school graduates obtaining a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. The bill seeks to address physician shortages across the nation and in New Mexico by increasing matching rates and ensuring that both DO and MD students have equal opportunity to complete their training and serve patients. Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing health professions in the United States, with colleges of osteopathic medicine educating 25 percent of all medical students.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FAIR Act requires Medicare-funded Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs to annually report on the number of applicants and accepted residents across MD and DO credentials.
  • The legislation aims to remove unnecessary residency criteria by requiring federally funded GME programs to accept applications from both DO and MD schools and to accept both COMLEX-USA (DO) and USMLE (MD) licensing exams.
  • Programs failing to report this information will be subject to a 2% annual reduction in their Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments.
  • The legislation is sponsored by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Angus King (I-Maine) in the Senate and Reps. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Don Davis (D-N.C.) in the House.
  • The FAIR Act has been endorsed by over 70 national and state health organizations, including the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, National Rural Health Association, and New Mexico Osteopathic Medical Association.
  • The legislation aims to address the exclusion of DO applicants from GME programs, which can lead to a strain on the nation's healthcare workforce.

Statistics:

  • 32% of residency program directors "never" or "seldom" interview DO candidates (National Resident Matching Program data).
  • 56% of residency programs require DO applicants to take the USMLE, despite both COMLEX-USA and USMLE conferring unrestricted physician licenses.
  • 73% of DOs practice in the state where they completed their residency training.
  • Over 25% of all medical students attend colleges of osteopathic medicine.

Sources:

  • U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, Steve Daines, and Angus King press release
  • American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
  • National Resident Matching Program data