Likely helped
- No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
H.R. 870 (119th)Bill Overview
Physicians for Underserved Areas Act
Health|Employee hiringHealth
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Democratic
Introduced
Jan 31, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Committee
Current stageCommittee
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for c…
Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does
<p><b>Physicians for Underserved Areas Act</b></p> <p>This bill modifies how a hospital's residency positions are redistributed after it closes for purposes of graduate medical education payments under Medicare.</p> <p>Under current law, if a hospital with an approved medical residency program closes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must redistribute the hospital's residency positions to other hospitals in the following order: (1) hospitals in the same core-based statistical area as the closed hospital, (2) hospitals in the same state as the closed hospital, (3) hospitals in the same region of the country as the closed hospital, and (4) other remaining hospitals. In order to receive the additional positions, hospitals must demonstrate a likelihood of filling the positions within three years.</p> <p>The bill removes the requirement that the CMS prioritize hospitals in the same region of the country as the closed hospital.
Why people may split
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Watch point
The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
<p><b>Physicians for Underserved Areas Act</b></p> <p>This bill modifies how a hospital's residency positions are redistributed after it closes for purposes of graduate medical education payments under Medicare.</p> <p>Under current law, if a hospital with an approved medical residency program closes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must redistribute the hospital's residency positions to other hospitals in the following order: (1) hospitals in the same core-based statistical area as the closed hospital, (2) hospitals in the same state as the closed hospital, (3) hospitals in the same region of the country as the closed hospital, and (4) other remaining hospitals.
In order to receive the additional positions, hospitals must demonstrate a likelihood of filling the positions within three years.</p> <p>The bill removes the requirement that the CMS prioritize hospitals in the same region of the country as the closed hospital.
Passage38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
CredibilityPartial
How solid the drafting looks.
Contention62/100
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
02 · What it does
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Likely burdened
- No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split
Why the argument around this bill splits.
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Centrist—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Conservative—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
04 · Can it pass?
The path through Congress.
Introduced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Committee
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Floor
Still ahead
President
Still ahead
Law
Still ahead
Passage likelihood38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Why this could stall
- The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
05 · Recent votes
Recent votes on the bill.
No vote history yet
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
06 · Go deeper
Go deeper than the headline read.
Included on this page
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Unlocked analysis
Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Physicians for Underserved Areas Act.
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