CMS will fund at least 100 new psychiatry residency spots.
In a final rule published Aug. 1, CMS said it would establish an application and award process for hospitals seeking funding for new residency positions. Funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 will pay for 200 new residency slots.
At least half of these spots must be psychiatry or psychiatry subspecialty residencies. To be eligible for funding, hospitals must be either in rural areas, in states with new medical schools or new locations of existing medical schools, or in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area.
CMS will notify hospitals receiving funding by January 2026.
The number of medical school graduates matching into psychiatry residencies increased 5% from 2023. Few psychiatry residency spots went unfilled, with just 12 of 2,261 residencies unfilled in 2024.