US Department of Health and Human Services Grants $293 Million to Boost Primary Care in High Need Areas

The US Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Department of Health and Human Services has granted $293 million to primary healthcare providers and students through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps programs.

The NHSC Scholarship program will receive $47.1 million to disburse as 229 awards to students pursuing primary care training to earn degrees in medicine, dentistry, nurse-midwifery, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who will bring their skills to a high-need region after graduating. The Nurse Corps scholarship program will receive $25.1 million to give 219 awards to nursing students in exchange for a two-year work commitment in facilities with critical shortages. The National Health Service Corps Students to Service Loan Repayment Program will receive $19.3 million to provide 162 new awards to medical and dental students who choose primary care as their specialty and agree to work in rural or urban areas with high need.

HRSA Administrator George Sigounas tells HealthcareFinanceNews.com, “These programs connect primary care providers with the rural, urban, and tribal communities across the country that need them most. In addition to providing essential medical and dental care, these clinicians are on the front lines helping to fight pressing public health issues, like the growing opioid epidemic.”

Over 12,500 NHSC and Nurse Corps clinicians are currently providing care to about 13 million patients and another 1,725 primary care students are in school or residency preparing for future service with the Nurse Corps. The NHSC and Nurse Corps programs provide scholarships and loan repayment to healthcare providers in exchange for working in areas of the US with limited access to care, improving the health and wellness of those regions.