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A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize rural residency planning and development grant programs, and for other purposes.
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize rural residency planning and development grant programs, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Establishes a Rural Residency Planning and Development Program that awards grants to eligible entities to establish new rural residency programs or add rural training sites to existing programs for three-year terms.
- Requires rural residency programs to train residents in rural areas for more than 50 percent of their residency time and primarily focus on producing physicians who will practice in rural areas.
- Specifies that eligible pathways for rural residency programs include general primary care, high-need specialty care, maternal health and obstetrics, and other pathways determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Establishes a Rural Residency Planning and Development Technical Assistance Program that awards grants to provide technical assistance to program awardees and potential applicants for four-year terms.
- Defines eligible entities as domestic public or private nonprofits or for-profits, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, rural hospitals, health centers, and graduate medical education consortiums.
- Authorizes $12.7 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to carry out these programs.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
1 cosponsor
Actions (2)
- Aug 4, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. · senate
- Aug 4, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 4, 2026
Ms. Smith (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize rural residency planning and development grant programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. RURAL RESIDENCY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.
Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 330A-2 (42 U.S.C. 254c-1b) the following:
“SEC. 330A-3. RURAL RESIDENCY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND RURAL RESIDENCY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
“(a) Rural Residency Planning and Development Program.—
“(1) Grants.—
“(A) In general.—The Secretary may award grants to eligible entities to establish new rural residency programs (including adding new rural training sites to existing rural track programs).
“(B) Funding.—Grants awarded under this subsection may be fully funded at the time of the award.
“(C) Term.—The term of a grant under this subsection shall be 3 years and may be extended at the discretion of the Secretary.
“(2) Applications.—
“(A) In general.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a description of the pathway of the rural residency program as described in subparagraph (B).
“(B) Pathway.—A pathway of a rural residency program supported under this subsection shall be for—
“(i) general primary care and high-need specialty care, including family medicine, internal medicine, preventive medicine, psychiatry, or general surgery;
“(ii) maternal health and obstetrics, which may be obstetrics and gynecology or family medicine with enhanced obstetrical training; or
“(iii) any other pathway as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
“(b) Rural Residency Planning and Development Technical Assistance Program.—
“(1) Grants.—
“(A) In general.—The Secretary may award grants to eligible entities to provide technical assistance to awardees and potential applicants of the program described in subsection (a).
“(B) Funding.—Grants awarded under this subsection may be fully funded at the time of the award.
“(C) Term.—The term of a grant under this subsection shall be 4 years and may be extended at the discretion of the Secretary.
“(2) Applications.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Eligible entity.—The term ‘eligible entity’—
“(A) means—
“(i) a domestic public or private nonprofit or for-profit entity; or
“(ii) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization; and
“(B) may include faith-based or community-based organizations, rural hospitals, rural community-based ambulatory patient care centers (including rural health clinics), health centers operated by an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or urban Indian organization, graduate medical education consortiums (including institutions of higher education, such as schools of allopathic medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, or historically Black colleges or universities), or other organizations as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
“(2) Rural residency program.—The term ‘rural residency program’ means a physician residency program, including a rural track program, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (or a similar body) that—
“(A) trains residents in rural areas (as defined by the Secretary) for more than 50 percent of the total time of their residency; and
“(B) primarily focuses on producing physicians who will practice in rural areas, as defined by the Secretary.
“(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—
“(1) In general.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $12,700,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
“(2) Availability.—Amounts appropriated under paragraph
(1) shall remain available until expended.”. <all>
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