Study Findings on Managed Care Are Outlined in Reports from Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Geographic and Program Size Disparities in Medicare Funding for Graduate Medical Education): Managed Care

2026 AUG 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news reporting out of Philadelphia, United States, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Background Medicare direct graduate medical education (DGME) payments are essential to sustaining residency training and shaping the physician workforce. While geographic variation in total DGME spending is well described, less is known about inequities in per-resident funding across states and program sizes.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, “The objective of this article was to assess variation in Medicare DGME payments per resident across US states and residency program sizes and identify patterns relevant to equitable graduate medical education (GME) funding. In 2025, we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of publicly available Medicare DGME payment data from 2014-2024. All US hospitals reporting DGME payments were eligible (N = 447), with 439 hospitals included (98.2%). Hospitals were stratified by state and residency program size: small (0-20 residents), mid-sized (21-200), and large (>200). The primary outcome was DGME payment per resident. Comparisons were performed across states and program sizes. Sensitivity analyses evaluated resident count and hospital bed capacity. Per-resident DGME payments varied significantly by state and program size (p <0.001). The national median payment was approximately $22,000 per resident, with the highest payments in Mississippi and the lowest in California. Small programs received higher mean per-resident payments than mid-sized programs (p <0.01). Hospitals in the highest and lowest payment deciles were concentrated within specific states. Resident count was a stronger predictor of per-resident payments than hospital bed capacity (p <0.001). Substantial geographic and program-size-related inequities in per-resident DGME funding persist nationwide.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This may disadvantage mid-sized and underserved programs and should be considered in promoting equitable training and workforce distribution.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Geographic and Program Size Disparities in Medicare Funding for Graduate Medical Education. Cureus, 2026;18(6).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Prabhat K. Gottipati, Cardiovascular Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States. Additional authors for this research include Aryan Gupta, Priya Joshi, Medha Tekriwal, Subodha Kumar, Yoshiya Toyoda and Suyog A. Mokashi.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)