U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, introduced legislation Monday to improve access to health care and address the physician shortage in rural areas.
The Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2024 would authorize the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program to continue providing start-up funding to rural hospitals, medical schools and other organizations to establish new rural residency programs. Among current medical residency programs, only 2 percent of residency training occurs in rural areas, and in Minnesota, 80 percent of counties qualify as mental health professional shortage areas. The Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2024 is intended to help address the health care provider shortages by supporting the training of more clinicians in rural areas.
Said Smith in a press release: “When I meet with families, farmers, businesses and Tribal and community leaders in rural Minnesota, one of the first issues that comes up is health care. There is a severe lack of access to health care in rural communities in Minnesota and across the country, and this bill is the first step to addressing that problem. Establishing more residency programs at rural hospitals and medical schools will incentivize doctors and nurses to work in these areas, help address physician shortages and ensure Minnesotans living in small towns and rural places have access to the care they deserve.”
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