Iowa Methodist Medical Center (UnityPoint) will receive additional Medicare funding to support more graduate medical education (GME) residency positions in emergency medicine. This development comes as part of a 2020 law championed by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, aimed at addressing Iowa’s growing health care workforce needs.
This marks the fourth round of residency funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with Iowa hospitals having received federal funding for over 14 permanent additional GME residency positions so far.
“During my 99 county meetings, I hear from patients and health care professionals who tell me our medical workforce needs more support. We especially need more emergency room doctors in rural communities, so today’s announcement is welcome news. I’m gratified to see my efforts are continuing to support Iowans seeking medical care,” Grassley said.
Dr. William J. Yost, Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Medical Education and Research at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, commented on the impact: “The additional Medicare-funded residency slots help address critical physician shortages here in Iowa and helps ensure Iowans continue to have access to high quality health care in their local community. Our programs consistently produce physicians and surgeons that remain in Iowa to serve Iowans. We appreciate Senator Grassley’s continued work on this issue.”
The CMS awards for GME residency positions have been distributed among several hospitals in Iowa across four rounds:
– Round 1: Iowa Methodist Medical Center (UnityPoint) received 2.92 positions for Emergency Medicine; MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center received 3 positions for Family Medicine.
– Round 2: MercyOne Des Moines was awarded 3 positions for Cardiovascular Disease.
– Round 3: Iowa Methodist Medical Center (UnityPoint) gained an additional 2.75 Emergency Medicine positions.
– Round 4: The latest award gives another 2.75 Emergency Medicine slots to Iowa Methodist Medical Center (UnityPoint).
In total, these allocations amount to approximately 14.42 new residency slots statewide.
As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in 2020, Grassley led efforts resulting in the addition of 1,000 new Medicare-funded GME residency positions nationwide—the largest such increase in over a quarter-century—focusing on strengthening healthcare resources particularly in rural and underserved areas.
Grassley has continued oversight on this initiative, with CMS confirming its intention to meet a goal that at least ten percent of new residencies be distributed to rural hospitals nationally. Grassley emphasized distributing medical residency opportunities to rural areas during multiple Senate Finance Committee hearings and floor discussions throughout May 2024 and March and May of 2025.
