The Strengthening the Medical Examiner and Coroner System Act of 2024 provides federal grants to help address critical staffing shortages in forensic pathology and related death investigation fields. The legislation authorizes $13 million annually from 2025 through 2029 to support three main initiatives: funding forensic pathology fellowships for medical school graduates, training medicolegal death investigators who conduct death investigations, and supporting forensic toxicology specialists in laboratories that serve medical examiner and coroner offices. Eligible recipients include accredited medical education programs, publicly funded medical examiner and coroner offices, and publicly funded forensic toxicology laboratories. The bill ensures geographic equity by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to consider rural-urban distribution and the needs of communities with high opioid use disorder rates and limited forensic capacity. The legislation designates minimum funding levels within the annual appropriation, including at least $7 million for forensic pathology fellowships to support at least 40 fellows per year.
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