Heinrich, Daines, King Introduce Legislation to Support Medical Students & Strengthen Health Care Workforce in New Mexico

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Angus King (I-Maine) introduced the Fair Access in Residency (FAIR) Act, legislation to promote transparency in residency criteria for medical school graduates obtaining a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and increase matching rates to address physician shortages across the nation and in New Mexico.

"New Mexicans already face too many barriers to accessing care, especially in rural and Tribal communities. We cannot afford to leave qualified medical students on the sidelines because of outdated barriers in the residency process. The bipartisan FAIR Act will bring greater transparency and fairness to residency programs, helping ensure that both DO and MD students have equal opportunity to complete their training and serve patients. By opening the door to more highly trained physicians, this bill will help strengthen our health care workforce and expand access to care for New Mexicans," said Heinrich.

"DOs are essential to the physician workforce and provide millions of people in Montana and across the nation with quality care. DOs put in countless hours of hard work and personal sacrifice to help others, but often face unnecessary barriers when applying for residency programs. I'm glad to work with my colleagues on the FAIR Act, which will increase transparency into Medicare-funded residency programs and help expand access for DOs, so we have more doctors serving our country," said Daines.

"Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing health professions in the United States, including in Maine, and is integral to our state's health workforce," said King. "The FAIR Act is a commonsense measure, aimed at ensuring fairness in the medical residency process and affirming that residency candidates graduated from osteopathic schools have an equal shot at these positions. Expanding access to residency slots for Dos means expanding access to healthcare, and primary care in particular, for those in the most rural communities to those in our major urban centers."

Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing health professions in the United States, and colleges of osteopathic medicine are now educating 25 percent of all medical students. However, Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs often exclude DO applicants or impose burdensome requirements upon them.

According to National Resident Matching Program data, 32 percent of residency program directors "never" or "seldom" interview DO candidates, and of those who do, at least 56 percent require the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). DO students take the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA) for graduation and licensure. Both the COMLEX-USA and USMLE confer unrestricted physician licenses. DO students should not be subjected to exclusion or the strain of a second exam, which exceeds physician licensure requirements.

DOs are meeting our nation's health care needs by prioritizing primary care specialties and practicing in rural and underserved areas at notably high rates. Physician distribution is influenced by training location, and more than 73 percent of DOs practice in the state where they do their residency training.

The FAIR Act will remove unnecessary residency criteria by requiring Medicare-funded GME programs to annually report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the number of applicants and the number of accepted residents across MD and DO credentials.

Specifically, the FAIR Act will:

• Require federally funded GME programs to report annually on the number of residency applicants from both osteopathic DO and allopathic MD medical schools and how many were accepted from each.
• Require federally funded GME programs to affirm annually that they accept applications from both DO and MD schools and that, if an exam score is required, both COMLEX-USA (DO) and USMLE (MD) licensing exams are accepted.
• Ensure that programs failing to report this information will be subject to a 2% annual reduction in their Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments.

The legislation is led by Heinrich, Daines, and King in the Senate. In the House, the legislation is led by U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Don Davis (D-N.C.).

The legislation is endorsed by over 70 national and state health organizations, which includes the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, National Rural Health Association, and New Mexico Osteopathic Medical Association.

"It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Senate's FAIR Act introduction," said AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO. "Having both congressional chambers advance this bill brings us one step closer to parity for DOs and improved access to healthcare for communities across the country, especially those in rural and underserved areas. AACOM deeply appreciates the leadership and support of Senators Daines, Heinrich and King in championing this vital effort."

The text of the bill is here.

###

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet