January 22, 2024

Manchin, Bipartisan Colleagues Urge Senate Leadership To Reauthorize The Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined his bipartisan colleagues in urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to act swiftly to reauthorize the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program. The THCGME program helps rural communities build reliable healthcare workforces by training professionals in community-based settings.

“Our teaching health centers need certainty so they can train new providers to serve the rural communities that sorely need them,” the Senators wrote in part. “Prompt Senate passage of THCGME reauthorization and finalization of the bill language with the House will help avoid disruption to the THCs and their residents and patients. This program solves gaps in access to high-quality primary, mental, and dental health care by supporting the development of the next generation of physicians and dentists to serve in both urban and rural underserved communities.”

In addition to Senator Manchin, the letter was also signed by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Boozman (R-AR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Fetterman (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

The full letter is available below and here.

Dear Leaders Schumer and McConnell:

We are writing to request that the Senate act as soon as possible to pass a multi-year reauthorization of the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program.

Teaching Health Centers (THCs) face a January 31 deadline to submit a final number of medical residency slots which they will try to fill between now and Match Day on March 15. Without the certainty of a multi-year reauthorization and the proposed funding increases, it is very difficult for THCs to commit to medical school graduates for the academic year that starts this July 1. As a result, we have been advised that there could be reductions in the number of residency slots the THCs attempt to fill, and thus our states might end up with fewer primary care physicians. Our teaching health centers need certainty so they can train new providers to serve the rural communities that sorely need them.

Prompt Senate passage of THCGME reauthorization and finalization of the bill language with the House will help avoid disruption to the THCs and their residents and patients. This program solves gaps in access to high-quality primary, mental, and dental health care by supporting the development of the next generation of physicians and dentists to serve in both urban and rural underserved communities. THCs have trained thousands of medical and dental residents and is the only federal program training physicians in a community setting rather than a hospital setting. For the current 2023-2024 academic year, there are 81 THCs in 23 states with 1,096 medical residents handling more than an estimated one million patient visits annually in rural and urban medically underserved communities. 82% of THC graduates remain in primary care practice, compared to 23% of traditional residency graduates; and 20% of THC graduates practice in rural America, compared to eight percent of traditional residency graduates.

In addition, 90 organizations received HHS THC Planning and Development grants and have developed proposals to start new medical and dental residency programs under the THCGME program, including seven in New York and two in Kentucky. Without Congress’ support, many of these Planning and Development grantees will have to cancel their plans for training new physicians and dentists to serve their communities, losing significant investment.

We look forward to working with you on reauthorization of this important program.