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National Health Service Corps Reauthorization Key Points

Passage of H.R. 2915 would optimally enable the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to provide health care access to underserved Americans.

  1. NHSC turns away the majority of applicants to its loan repayment and scholarship programs. NHSC can only fund about 1 in 2 loan repayment requests and only 1 in 7 to 11 applicants for scholarships.
    (Sources: NHSC; Washington Post: “Community Health Clinics Flourish, but Doctors Are Few; Government Needs to Entice Physicians, Health Officials Say” 6/19/2007)
  1. There are over 50 million individuals in the United States without regular access to primary care. HRSA estimated a need for an additional 26,657 physicians to meet the demand. The AAMC stated that NHSC placements should increase by 1500 per year which would require a funding level of approximately $400000 per year.
    (Sources: NHSC, HRSA, AAMC)
  1. Community Health Centers (CHCs), which are frequently staffed through the NHSC, have a vacancy rate of 13%. CHCs in rural areas have vacancy rates as high as 16%.
    (Source: JAMA. 2006;295:1042-1049)
  1. Medical student debt averages about $140,000 upon graduation. To address an often-overwhelming debt burden, many young doctors choose more lucrative specialties instead of pursing primary care fields in underserved communities. (Sources: AMA, AAMC)
  1. In order to ensure needed incentives for our understaffed primary care fields, NHSC reauthorization should increase funding, with a commitment to allocate a proportion of that funding to MD/DO scholarships. Adequate funding for this program will provide America with the public health resources to increase access to primary care health care professionals in underserved communities. NHSC programs are a sustainable solution: many physicians placed by NHSC choose to remain in the communities following the end of their required service. (Sources: NHSC, AAMC)

 

For more information:
Mary Carol Jennings
Jack Rutledge Legislative Director
American Medical Student Association
JRLD@amsa.org

    
   
 
 
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