Administration makes $9.1 million available for primary care in underserved areas

The Obama administration announced Monday that it is making $9.1 million in National Health Service Corps awards available to medical students who are willing to serve in underserved areas.

The funding was made possible by the 2010 healthcare reform law. It provides loan repayment assistance of up to $120,000 to fourth-year medical students if they commit to serve in a "health professional shortage area" upon completion of a primary care residency program.

"This new program is an innovative approach to encouraging more medical students to work as primary care doctors," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. "This is an important part of the Administration’s commitment to building the future health care workforce."

The United States faces a shortage of 21,000 primary care doctors by 2015, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. A major reason is that primary care doctors stand to make far less that specialists, despite also having substantial student debt.

"The average medical school debt of the students receiving these awards is more than $200,000," said Mary Wakefield, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. "The Students to Service program relieves a tremendous debt burden, allowing them to follow their passion for primary care and serve some of the country's most underserved rural and urban communities."

---