Senate Graduate Medical Education Bill Introduced

Last month, Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) reintroduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025. The legislation addresses the growing physician shortage by expanding the number of Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) slots by 14,000 over the next seven years. This is the Senate version of the House bill introduced in June.

AAPPR is proud to endorse this important legislation, as it directly supports our mission to strengthen the physician workforce and improve healthcare access, particularly in underserved and high-need communities. We will be transmitting an endorsement letter to the sponsors as we did with the House bill and recently joined a stakeholder letter led by the Association of American Medical Colleges. We will follow up with AAPPR members on how to help raise awareness for this important legislation to increase the number of GME slots across the country.

H-1B Weight Selection Rule Clears White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

A controversial rule from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) seeking to base selection of H-1B petitions on wages paid rather than random lottery could be released this month. The weighted selection would apply to H-1B visa subject to annual caps, which does not always impact physicians, but could deter leveraging the H-1B pathway or make the process more competitive. Currently, 85,000 slots are assigned via lottery.

The first Trump Administration sought to advance a similar proposal but it was ultimately rescinded by the Biden Administration in 2021. It will likely face scrutiny from the public and employers who fear this could impact less experienced professionals who are still heavily recruited for roles in tech and health care. AAPPR will continue to monitor this issue and its implications for the recruitment of international physicians.

Closing Word

We will be following up with more state and federal updates in the health workforce space coming out of the August recess. Please reach out if you have any questions. Enjoy the rest of summer!