FEDERALcongressional record

Proposed FAIR Act of 2026: Residency Application Transparency

Original title: Text of Senate Amendment 6412

June 24, 2026

medical education residency programs healthcare policy federal funding osteopathic medicine allopathic medicine

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The Frame

What this does

Hospitals that do not report their residency application and acceptance data for osteopathic and allopathic candidates will face a 2% reduction in specific federal payments beginning October 1, 2027.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Hospitals with residency programs

Hospitals must collect and submit specific application data and affirmations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services or face a 2% reduction in federal payments.

Osteopathic medical school graduates

The policy requires transparency regarding their application and acceptance rates compared to allopathic graduates.

Allopathic medical school graduates

The policy requires transparency regarding their application and acceptance rates compared to osteopathic graduates.

What changed

Last recorded activity June 24, 2026.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

Senator Heinrich has proposed an amendment to the 2027 defense authorization bill that would require hospitals to report data on how they handle residency applications from osteopathic and allopathic medical school graduates. Hospitals that fail to submit this information would face a 2% reduction in certain federal payments starting in 2027.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this bill force hospitals to accept a certain number of students from specific medical schools?

No. The amendment includes a 'Rule of Construction' stating it shall not be construed as establishing a mandate for residency programs to accept students from either osteopathic or allopathic schools.

What happens if a hospital does not report the required data?

Beginning October 1, 2027, the hospital's payments under will be reduced by 2% for each they failed to submit the required information.

Why It Matters

Hospitals that do not report their residency application and acceptance data for osteopathic and allopathic candidates will face a 2% reduction in specific federal payments beginning October 1, 2027.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Transparency Mandate for Residency Admissions

The amendment shifts from voluntary reporting to a penalty-based system for residency application data, specifically targeting the parity between DO and MD applicants.

Mr. Heinrich Department of Health and Human Services

Connected Entities

organizationDepartment of Defense“Agency involved in the underlying defense authorization bill.”Map →

otherSocial Security Act“The statute being amended by this proposal.”Map →

organizationDepartment of Energy“Agency involved in the underlying defense authorization bill.”Map →

personMr. Heinrich“U.S. Senator who submitted the amendment.”Map →

personSecretary of Health and Human Services“Responsible for publishing the reported residency data.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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