GAO Releases Report on GME Slot Distribution
Published January 12, 2026
By AACOM Government Relations
Federal Policy Graduate Medical Education OME Advocate Residency
- On December 22, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its report on the initial distributions of new Medicare-funded physician residency positions funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021. The law requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to distribute 1,000 new Medicare-funded GME residency positions to qualifying hospitals in at least five annual distributions. As of September 2025, 600 of those positions had been allocated through the first three annual distributions.
- GAO analyzed hospital application data submitted to CMS for the first three annual distributions from 2023 through 2025 and found that hospitals awarded positions tended to be located in urban areas, have established residency programs and applied to expand primary care training opportunities.
- Addressing physician shortages through the distribution of new residency slots is critical, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and AACOM continues to advocate for GME priorities in these communities.