This bill appropriates the following amounts for FY 2027:

• $99 million for Tribal colleges and universities (an increase of $12 million)
• $8.7 billion for Indian Health Service (an increase of $640 million)
• $5.6 billion in Advance appropriations (an increase of $757 million)
• $95 million for Indian Health Professions (an increase of $10 million)

This bill reauthorizes the Medical Student Education (MSE) Program, which 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, through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2028.

This bill allows Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers to be assigned to Urban Indian Organizations (UIO).

This bill would allow recipients of Indian Health Professions Scholarships or participants in the IHS Loan Repayment Program to fulfill their service obligations through half-time clinical practice. S. 632 would modify both programs by allowing recipients to work part-time in exchange for the financial assistance. Under the bill, Scholarship Program recipients could work 20 hours a week for four years, and Loan Repayment Program recipients could work either part-time at IHS for four years for the full amount of loan and tax assistance or part-time for two years in exchange for a 50 percent reduction in their loan assistance.

This bill seeks to do the following:

• Establish the Office of Graduate Medical Education Programs to oversee existing residency and fellowship programs at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities and support the creation of additional programs aimed at recruiting and retaining health care professionals.
• Direct the Office to collaborate with academic institutions to strengthen educational ties and enhance training opportunities.
• Establish an interagency working group, involving various federal agencies, to assist in the implementation and sustainability of the Office.