By Edward Graham – 11/19/2025
New legislation from a group of House Democrats would establish a grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services to help fund artificial intelligence training and education courses for medical students.
Under the proposal, qualified medical schools and residency sponsoring institutions looking to bolster their AI training and education efforts would be eligible to apply for grants for up to $100,000. The program would be housed within the Health Resources and Services Administration and would be authorized to distribute $1 million each year from fiscal year 2026 to 2030.
The measure was introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., and is co-sponsored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif.
The legislation looks to enhance AI literacy for “skill-building and decisionmaking” across the medical profession by supporting uses of the emerging capabilities for data analysis, training initiatives like virtual simulations, personalizing education and providing “the latest updates to health care.”
Qualified schools and institutions that receive grants through the program would be required to submit a report to HHS detailing the funding spent on AI-related education and training, as well as summarizing “the educational program goals and objectives and related evidence to support academic progress or advancements made under such grant.”
These grant recipients would also be mandated to describe how AI training was integrated into their curriculums, the number of students who enrolled in and successfully completed at least one course supported by the grant, and any entities with whom the institutions collaborated on its AI literacy program.
In a statement, Barragán said the bill “will help provide that space to train our next generation of health care providers to give the best care possible for working Americans.”
“With the rapid developments in AI technology, we now have the capability to do more, provide better care, and close the health care disparities that we often see in our underserved and minority communities,” she added. “But that also means that our next generation of doctors and providers must be knowledgeable in how to best use this technology.”
Even though some healthcare professionals have begun using AI tools and other emerging capabilities to bolster patient care, enhance medical screenings and automate tasks, questions still remain about data privacy, clinical oversight and reliability. And at least one academic study found that an overreliance on AI may diminish doctors’ foundational skills.