This bill creates a grant program in the Department of Health and Human Services. The Secretary may award grants to colleges or groups of colleges to establish, improve, or expand a school of medicine, a school of osteopathic medicine, or a branch campus of such schools. The program gives priority to projects that would place a new school where none exists, to minority‑serving institutions, and to locations that are medically underserved or designated health professional shortage areas. Grant funds must be used to recruit, enroll, and retain medical students—especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, rural or underserved areas, low‑income students, and first generation college students—and to develop curriculum focused on care for rural and underserved populations. Funds may also be used for planning and construction, meeting accreditation criteria, hiring faculty and staff, supporting educational programs, and modernizing infrastructure. Awardees must apply to the Secretary and submit annual reports. The Secretary must report to Congress every five years, listing awardees and locations, student enrollment and graduate outcomes (deidentified and disaggregated when available), effects on the provider workforce and health care access in underserved areas, and recommendations. The Secretary must make those reports public. The bill defines terms such as branch campus and refers to existing definitions in other statutes. The bill authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” to carry out the program.
If passed, colleges could get federal grants to open or grow medical and osteopathic schools in areas that lack doctors. This could increase local training spots for medical students and aim to recruit students from rural, low‑income, or underrepresented backgrounds. Communities designated as medically underserved or health professional shortage areas could be prioritized for new schools or branch campuses. Institutions awarded grants would need to report on students, graduates, and local workforce effects.
The bill does not set a dollar amount. It authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” to run the program. There is no specific funding level or budget estimate in the text. Grant recipients must submit annual reports, and the Secretary must provide a detailed report to Congress every five years. No publicly available information on total expected costs or savings is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.