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FAQ: Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program

Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-22-105

Eligibility

Funding/Budget

Eligibility

  1. What types of community-based ambulatory patient care centers are eligible for THCGME funding?

    Specific examples of eligible outpatient settings include, but are not limited to:

    • Federally qualified health centers
    • Community mental health centers
    • Rural health clinics
    • Health centers operated by the Indian Health Service, an Indian tribe or tribal organization, or an urban Indian organization
    • An entity receiving funds under Title X of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act

    Note: List of entities above is not exhaustive, but does reflect the intent of the program to provide training in community-based ambulatory patient care centers such as those listed.

  2. What types of residency programs are eligible for THCGME funding?

    The THCGME NOFO offers funding to support primary care residency programs in:

    • Family medicine
    • Internal medicine
    • Pediatrics
    • Internal medicine-pediatrics
    • Psychiatry
    • Obstetrics and Gynecology
    • General dentistry
    • Pediatric dentistry
    • Geriatrics

    Note: No other specialties will be considered for THCGME funding.

  3. Are existing THCGME award recipients eligible to apply?

    Yes. Two award types are available through this announcement:

    1. Expansion awards for an expanded number of resident FTE positions at existing HRSA THCGME Programs.
    2. New awards to support new resident FTE positions at new Teaching Health Centers (THCs), as funding permits. New THCs are those applicants that have never received payment under the HRSA THCGME Program for the applicable residency program in any previous fiscal year (FY).

  4. Are teaching hospitals and academic institutions eligible for THCGME funding?

    No. Entities that are not community-based ambulatory patient care centers, such as teaching hospitals, health care systems and/or networks, and academic institutions are not eligible to receive THCGME funding.

    However, a community-based ambulatory patient care center may form a GME consortium with community stakeholders (e.g., academic health centers, universities and/or medical schools, teaching hospitals) where the GME consortium serves as the institutional sponsor of, and operates, an accredited primary care residency program.

    Within the consortium, the community-based ambulatory care center is expected to play an integral role in the academic, financial and administrative operations of the residency.

    THCGME payments must be used to support resident training and clinical activities at the ambulatory training site.

  5. Must my residency program be accredited in order to receive THCGME support?

    Yes. You must provide documentation that the residency program is accredited at time of application.

    If you are in the process of obtaining accreditation for your residency program, then you may apply. You must provide documentation from the appropriate accrediting body demonstrating that the accreditation process has been initiated prior to the September 21, 2021 NOFO application due date.

    You will not receive THCGME program funds if documentation of accreditation is not received by HRSA by November 5, 2021, 11:59pm Eastern.

    Applicant residency programs must be prepared to begin training residents starting July 1, 2022.

  6. How many resident full-time equivalents (FTE) may I apply for?

    You must designate the number of resident FTEs they are requesting support for under this announcement. Resident FTE requests may not exceed the number approved by, or awaiting approval by, the relevant accrediting body and must be made according to the following requirements:

    1. Expansion – Existing HRSA THCGME programs requesting expansion of resident FTEs may request support for an expanded number of resident FTEs beyond the number stated in your most recent HRSA THCGME Program Resident FTE Approval Letter.
    2. New THCs – must demonstrate that the number of resident FTE(s) being requested is above the program’s baseline. The baseline is the highest number of resident FTEs trained by the program in any of the last four (4) academic years (AY 2018-2019 through AY 2021-2022). Training of newly supported THCGME residents must start in AY 2022-2023.

    Note: You may not use THCGME funding to support resident FTE positions below your program's baseline.

  7. Can I apply for THCGME funding to support resident FTE positions at my program that are already supported by another Federal funding source?

    No. Resident FTE positions supported by other federal GME sources of funding may not be substituted with THCGME funds.

  8. Are there priorities available through this announcement?

    Yes. The THCGME Program has three (3) funding priorities for making awards to new THCs:

    • Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)
    • Medically Underserved Community
    • Rural Community

    Up to 15 points across the three (3) funding priorities are available for new THC applicants that qualify.

    New THC applicants are permitted to apply for more than one priority. Applicants for new THC awards may also apply to this announcement without requesting a funding priority.

  9. Are multiple THCGME applications allowable?

    Yes. Multiple THCGME applications from an organization are allowable.

    Entities seeking THCGME funding to support multiple residency programs MUST submit a separate application for each individual residency program.

    You should include a unique name for each training program in the project abstract to differentiate between applications.

    Each application will be scored separately.

Funding/Budget

  1. How much is the per resident FTE award amount through this announcement?

    The THCGME Program payment is formula-based and provides a payment inclusive of both DME and IME support. The FY 2022 interim payment rate will be $160,000 per resident FTE. In subsequent fiscal years, the payment rate may change due to available appropriations and/or changes in payment methodology.

  2. Can THCGME funding be used to support residency program start-up costs?

    No. Awards made through this announcement may be utilized to support the costs associated with resident FTE training only. THCGME Program funds may not be used for residency program development (e.g. the costs associated with accreditation).

  3. If selected for funding, when will I receive my THCGME award?

    HRSA intends to issue approval letters to successful applicants by November 15, 2021 in order to allow programs to recruit residents for the 2022-2023 AY that will begin July 1, 2022.

    HRSA will issue the Notice of Award (NOA) prior to the start date of July 1, 2022.

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