VA Publishes PPGMER Final Rule

On Nov. 13, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a final rule for the Pilot Program on Graduate Medical Education and Residency (PPGMER, Fed. Reg. 77514). As part of the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Network Act of 2018 (VA MISSION, P.L. 115-182), the PPGMER will fund no fewer than 100 residents to train at non-VA facilities, a first for the department. Additionally, the VA MISSION Act allows the VA to provide funding associated with the startup costs for new residency programs. Eligible facilities, or “covered facilities,” include those operated by an Indian tribe or tribal organization, the Indian Health Service, a Federally Qualified Health Center, a health care facility operated by the Department of Defense, or other health care facilities the VA considers appropriate for the purposes of the PPGMER. The VA will provide public notice with request for proposal (RFP) that covered facilities interested in participating in the pilot program may respond to, with priority given to covered facilities operated by the Indian Health Service, an Indian tribe or tribal organization, or located in an underserved area. The VA will issue its first RFP for the program in summer 2024 and expects to have funding in place for the selected covered facilities beginning in July 2025.