Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) introduced legislation on Thursday to make it easier for students to pursue careers in health care.
The Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act authorizes a total of $290 million for scholarships, mentorships and core competencies.
Within the funds, an annual $20 million would go to state scholarships through 2018, an annual $20 million would go to mentorships through 2020 and an annual $10 million would go to core competencies through 2018.
“As our nation faces many health care challenges, including workforce shortages, it’s critical that we encourage medical students to pursue careers in primary and specialty care in underserved communities,” Blunt said. “This bill will help to build a stronger health care workforce while increasing access to quality health care for those who need it most.”
The Department of Health and Human Services has an entire website devoted to Health Profession Shortage Areas, which are regions of the country that have a shortage of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers.
HHS identified 5,900 primary care HPSAs in January and said it would take more than 7,500 additional physicians to address the shortages.
“Our nation faces a longstanding shortage of health care providers,” Reed said. “In particular, the demand for primary care doctors is growing, but the supply is not keeping pace. This is a problem that is only going to get worse unless Congress acts. The Reed-Blunt plan would give our medical workforce a booster shot and ultimately expand and improve access to health care.”