The Fair Access In Residency Act of 2025 mandates that hospitals operating approved medical residency training programs submit specific data to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This information includes the number of applicants and accepted candidates from both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools for each program, starting in fiscal year 2025. Hospitals must also affirm their policy to consider applicants from both types of medical schools. Furthermore, they must confirm that if an examination score is a prerequisite, they accept scores from either the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) or the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) , at the applicant's discretion. Failure to submit this required information will result in a 2 percent reduction in the hospital's Medicare payment amount for each year of non-compliance, beginning with discharges on or after October 1, 2026. The Secretary is also directed to publish all submitted data and affirmations on a public website to enhance transparency. This legislation aims to encourage more equitable treatment in residency application processes without federalizing medical education or mandating specific acceptance numbers for either osteopathic or allopathic students.
The Fair Access In Residency Act of 2025 mandates that hospitals operating approved medical residency training programs submit specific data to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This information includes the number of applicants and accepted candidates from both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools for each program, starting in fiscal year 2025. Hospitals must also affirm their policy to consider applicants from both types of medical schools. Furthermore, they must confirm that if an examination score is a prerequisite, they accept scores from either the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) or the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) , at the applicant's discretion. Failure to submit this required information will result in a 2 percent reduction in the hospital's Medicare payment amount for each year of non-compliance, beginning with discharges on or after October 1, 2026. The Secretary is also directed to publish all submitted data and affirmations on a public website to enhance transparency. This legislation aims to encourage more equitable treatment in residency application processes without federalizing medical education or mandating specific acceptance numbers for either osteopathic or allopathic students.