Grassley, Hinson, Nunn Push to Bring More Medical Residency Positions to Iowa

Grassley, Hinson, Nunn Push to Bring More Medical Residency Positions to Iowa

Lawmakers urge CMS to approve UnityPoint Health's application for additional slots

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA - U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) are urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to award Iowa more federally-funded residency positions to help address the state's doctor shortage.

In a letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, the lawmakers shared their support for UnityPoint Health's application for additional Medicare-funded graduate medical education (GME) residency positions for its emergency medicine residency program.

"This new emergency medicine residency program deserves additional federal support to strengthen rural emergency medical care and Iowa's physician workforce needs. More doctors being trained in rural America is good for patients and our nation's health care system," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers highlighted the program's benefits beyond adult emergency medicine, including pediatric emergency care and hands-on experience.

"[T]he co-location of Blank Children's Hospital in this program gives medical residents experience with pediatric emergency medicine. Residents have integrated themselves into the Des Moines and nearby communities by serving as on-call physicians at sporting and concert events. Residents even serve in local emergency medical service operations to get additional experience," the lawmakers continued.

The lawmakers described how the program benefits small town Iowa. Residents gain clinical experience more than 50 miles from Des Moines at Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Poweshiek County, which has a population of fewer than 20,000 people. A majority of the new program's first class of residents will continue practicing in rural areas or in Iowa communities after they complete their residency.

Full text of the letter can be found HERE.

Background:

While chairing the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley in 2020 worked to add 1,000 additional Medicare-funded GME residency positions nationwide to strengthen America's healthcare workforce - particularly in rural and underserved communities. This was the largest increase in Medicare-funded residency positions in over 25 years. CMS has so far awarded Iowa over 14 permanent additional GME residency positions as a result of the Grassley-backed law.

In response to Grassley, CMS confirmed it intends to meet the 10% rural hospital distribution threshold in the overall distribution of 1,000 residency positions. Grassley highlighted the importance of distributing medical residency positions to rural areas during a May 2024 Finance Committee hearing, in a March 2025 Finance Committee nomination hearing and on the Senate floor in May 2025.

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