Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing Monday that the Biden-Harris administration is dedicating $1.5 billion toward diversifying the nation’s health care workforce and addressing health care disparities.
What You Need To Know
- Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing Monday that the Biden-Harris administration is dedicating $1.5 billion toward diversifying the nation’s health care workforce and addressing health care disparities
- The administration is investing in the National Health Services Corps, Nurse Corps and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs with the goal of addressing worker shortages and making health care more equitable in underserved communities
- The funding, part of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March, will provide scholarships and repay loans for health care students and professionals who commit to serving in-need communities
- Only about 7% of the nation’s physicians are Black or Hispanic/Latino despite that those groups account for 31% of the U.S. population
The administration is investing in the National Health Services Corps, Nurse Corps and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs with the goal of addressing worker shortages and making health care more equitable in underserved communities.
Harris, along with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Health Resources & Services Administration head Dr. Luis Padilla, will officially announce the initiative Monday afternoon on the White House complex.
The funding, part of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March, will provide scholarships and repay loans for health care students and professionals — doctors, dentists, nurses and behavioral health providers — who commit to serving in-need communities.
The money will support more than 22,700 providers, the White House said.
“The mobilization of these providers is a critical step towards addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes and expanding the representation of these communities in health care professions,” a Biden administration news release said.
More than 23.6 million patients receive care from the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps, according to the White House. The programs have taken on added importance during the pandemic by treating COVID-19 patients and testing and vaccinating people.
Only about 7% of the nation’s physicians are Black or Hispanic/Latino despite that those groups account for 31% of the U.S. population. However, more than a quarter of physicians serving the National Health Services Corps are Black or Hispanic/Latino.
The funding also aims to address a projected shortage of nearly 60,000 primary care doctors, dentists and psychiatrists over the next decade as well as ensuring a sufficient number of nurses continues to enter the workforce, the White House said.
“A substantial barrier in meeting these health care needs is the student debt associated with graduate health education, which can average more than $200,000 per student and prevent students from underserved communities from even considering a career in health care professions,” the White House news release said.
The Biden-Harris administration also announced Monday it will begin awarding an additional $330 million in funding for Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Condition, also to help increase the number of primary care doctors and dentists serving in-need areas.
The announcements, the White House said, are a response to recommendations made by the Presidential COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.
