5As part of ongoing efforts to encourage students to consider careers in health care, a new bill (HR 2891) has been introduced by Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley that seeks loan repayment options for medical professionals working in areas that have a shortage of frontline care services.
This new student loan repayment program aims to help recruit a variety of health professionals to currently underserved areas. Professions considered for the bill include pediatricians, respiratory therapists, medical technologists and radiologic technologists.
To qualify for the repayment option, graduating students would agree to provide frontline care services full time for a period of no less than two years at a health care facility serving a scarcity area.
Medical school tuition debt is a large factor in choosing where to work
This bill would be similar to the Rural Iowa Provider Education (RIPE) Program enacted at Des Moines University, which provides the equivalent of six full tuition scholarships to students enrolled in the Rural Medicine Educational Pathway. In return, DMU graduates agree to maintain a full time primary care medical practice in an approved Iowa community for a period of four years.
The tuition debt load from medical school is a known barrier for students when deciding where to serve in their profession, but perhaps programs like the Frontline Providers Loan Repayment Act can help alleviate some of that stress for students.
If this bill were to be passed, would you consider working in a frontline care scarcity area? What other factors are part of your decision process? Let us know in the comments.
I think that any kind of payment plan that can help “alleviate stress for students” would be very beneficial, especially with the way things are going right now…
Thanks for responding, Nick. Are there other ways hospitals could help alleviate stress for students? What are some of the pain points you deal with than an employer could help potential employees with?
Has this bill passed? Do you know whether Nebraska has a similar bill in place?
Thank for your question. H.R.2891 has not passed the U.S. Congress. Concerning Nebraska, I’m not familiar with their policies on a state-level, but should this bill have passed Congress it would have applied on a nationwide-basis. Unfortunately, considering the current environment in Washington D.C. and the fact that the bill was introduced in 2009, it’s not likely that it will be moving forward at this time.
As part of the health care reform law, however, there were several provisions that sought to encourage individuals to choose health care as a career, and enhance the nation’s health care workforce including a variety of training grants and program proposals. For a full list of workforce provisions see this document: http://www.ncsl.org/documents/health/HlthWrkfrceProvHR3590.pdf