Sebelius Announce $9.1 million in Aid to Medical Students

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited a health clinic in downtown Los Angeles on Monday and announced more than $9 million in funding to help medical students repay school loans if they agree to work in underserved areas.

Sebelius said the program would encourage more students to pursue careers in family medicine and help relieve a shortage of primary care doctors.

“Most Americans who live in underserved areas don’t have access to basic care,” she said during the visit to Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center. “It is not just a problem in some rural, isolated communities. It’s a big problem in cities, like here in L.A.”

Sebelius toured the Eisner clinic, which serves more than 26,000 patients each year, and took part in a panel discussion about community health clinics. Clinics nationwide received an influx of financial support from the federal health reform law, designed to improve quality of care and reduce costs.

In the past, Sebelius has said that not enough attention was paid to workforce issues. But that has changed, and now there is more effort to expand that workforce, including training primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The loan repayment program, also funded by the federal law, is part of the National Health Service Corps and provides up to $120,000 to students who commit to spending three years as primary care doctors in areas where there are shortages.

The corps was created in 1972 and has tripled in size over the last three years. The program already provided loan repayment for medical residents, while the new effort reaches students while they are still in medical school.

Source: Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2012.

2012 NHSC Loan Repayment Now Accepting Applications

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) announced the opening of the 2012 application cycle is taking place during the last week of January 2012. With two levels of funding, the NHSC LRP offers primary health care providers loan repayment assistance in exchange for working in rural, urban and frontier communities. Full-time and half-time options are available for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse‐midwives, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and mental health providers to provide culturally competent, interdisciplinary primary health care services to underserved populations located in selected Health Professional Shortage Areas.

Learn more about eligibility requirements and qualifying educational loans by visiting the NHSC site.

California State Senate Passed Joint Resolution to Increase Physician Supply

This week, Assembly Joint Resolution 13 received bipartisan support in the California State Senate today with a 24–10 vote. The joint resolution urges the president and Congress to provide resources to increase the supply of physicians in California in order to improve access to care in underserved areas. The resolution also encourages the president and Congress to consider solutions that would increase the number of graduate medical education residency positions to keep pace with the growing need for physicians in California and the United States.

“With the baby boomers beginning to retire, national health care reform expanding coverage to millions of previously uninsured citizens, obesity rates hitting epidemic levels and the repercussions of the national recession and California’s own severe budget deficit still playing out, it is more important than ever that we continue to assess, address and reform the obstacles facing California’s healthcare system,” James G. Hinsdale, MD, president of the California Medical Association said.

“The most important of these obstacles, and one that is projected to grow substantially in the coming years, is ensuring sufficient and timely physician access for every Californian in need of a physician’s care.”

The Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) recommends that a state have between 60-80 primary care physicians per 100,000 people. In California, there are on average 63 primary care physicians for every 100,000 people. However, 42 out of California’s 58 counties fall below COGME’s minimum recommendations regarding adequate physician supply for primary care.

SFMS and CMA have been active on a number of fronts to address the challenges of physician supply and distribution, including:

• Working with the Legislature to create the Steve Thompson Scholarship program. The program would provide up to $105,000 in scholarships to selected participants who agree in writing prior to completing an accredited medical or osteopathic school to serve a minimum of three years in “medically underserved areas” or where unmet propriety needs for physicians exist as determined by the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission.
• Creating the Steve Thompson Loan Repayment Program that provides grants to pay off medical loans for physicians working in underserved areas. Each participating physician receives up to $105,000 in exchange for a three-year service commitment in a medically underserved area of the state.
• Supporting new medical schools, UC Merced and UC Riverside, and pushing an expedited timeline to build them.
• Supporting efforts to increase the diversity of the physician workforce through CMA’s Ethnic Medical Organization Section.
• Promoting increased incentives for pursuing primary care and supporting primary care physicians to keep their practices viable.

Got student loans? $1.7 Million in loan repayment grants available!

The California State Loan Repayment Program is partnering with the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program to award an additional $1.7 million by September 2011.  Up to $105,000 in funding is available for primary health care providers who commit to a three-year service obligation at a public or private non-profit facility that is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area.

The deadline to apply for the 2011 Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program is August 1.

The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) will notify selected applicants via email by September 1.  If selected for an award, participants will be required to sign a written contract and return it to OSHPD by September 9.

Click here for more information about the loan repayment program or to determine eligibility.  Click here to view the application.