U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) is sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would authorize the Medical Student Education (MSE) Program through fiscal year 2028.
The Medical Student Education Authorization Act, H.R. 5428, which the congressman sponsored in September 2025 alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), is under consideration by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
After introducing H.R. 5428, Rep. Cole noted that data shows that medical students and residents often decide to practice in the same community where they completed their training.
“Therefore, by providing medical education in rural, tribal, or underserved areas — and increasing recruitment in these places — we can make a difference by increasing the likelihood of access to quality care in these communities in the long term,” said Rep. Cole at the time. “The Medical Student Education Authorization Act will help to do just that.”
The MSE Program provides grants to public institutions of higher education to expand or support graduate education for physicians in states with the most severe primary care provider shortages, according to a bill summary provided on Feb. 4 by the lawmaker’s staff.
The program, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, focuses the grants on these institutions as it is widely recognized that the training experience in medically underserved communities increases the likelihood that a physician will practice there, the summary says.
Since the program’s inception, MSE has been a success with nearly $337 million being provided in grants to train the next generation of providers. However, because it was first authorized through the appropriations process, the MSE Program has no long-term authorization and must be reauthorized annually through the appropriations process.
H.R. 5428, which would ensure the program remains funded through FY 2028, has been endorsed by the American Associations of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the Oklahoma State Medical Association.