VA accepting proposals for new graduate medical education initiative to expand health care access for Veterans

New program aims to increase access to care for Veterans in rural, Tribal, and underserved communities

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs launched the online application portal to accept applications for the new Pilot Program for Graduate Medical Education and Residency, aimed at expanding health care access for Veterans across the country.

Through this pilot program, VA will reimburse salaries and benefits for at least 100 physician residents who rotate to covered health care facilities — prioritizing facilities in rural and underserved areas, Indian Tribe or Tribal organizations, and Indian Health Service facilities. Other covered facilities include Federally Qualified Health Centers, Department of Defense facilities, and other facilities deemed appropriate by VA.

One of the priorities of the VA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration is making sure that Veterans have access to the world-class care they deserve, regardless of where they live. Over the past year, VA has expanded access to care for Veterans in many ways — including adding night and weekend clinics, increasing the number of Veterans scheduled in daily clinics, partnering with DOD facilities, hiring new clinicians, and much more. These efforts have decreased wait times for new patients, put VA on pace to provide more health care appointments to Veterans than ever before, and led to Veterans trusting VA outpatient care at 91.8% — a record high.

“This program will place physician residents where they are needed most — in rural and underserved communities across America,” said VA Chief Academic Affiliations Officer Marjorie Bowman, M.D. “For Veterans, this program will make it easier to access the health care they need and deserve.”

VA has played a major role in educating the next generation of health professionals for almost eight decades. Nearly 70% of all U.S. physicians have trained at VA, and approximately 120,000 clinicians train at VA each year. Overseen by its Office of Academic Affiliations, VA educates health professions trainees across 60 health care disciplines at more than 1,000 VA health care facilities. These training opportunities serve as a workforce pathway for VA and the nation.

Academic institutions and programs interested in participating in this new pilot program must apply by Sept. 30, 2024. The selected programs will be notified in November 2024, for resident rotations in the July 2025 – June 2026 academic year. An online public information session will be held 2 p.m. ET, Aug. 21.

The pilot program was established under Section 403 of the MISSION Act. For more information on the upcoming information session and the program itself, visit the Office of Academic Affiliations.

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