Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, Nov. 14, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) and American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC) led a coalition of 318 signing national, state, and local organizations in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to support legislation to renew and expand funding for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program.
Mandatory funding will expire on Dec. 31 for both programs. More than 19 million patients in medically underserved communities annually receive care from clinicians in the NHSC, which provides loan repayment aid to incentivize clinicians to practice in health professional shortage areas. But as a recent ACU white paper noted, despite rising demand for clinicians in these areas, the NHSC’s funding has already declined by $310 million over the past two fiscal years.
Additionally, the TCHGME initiative is the only federal initiative training future physicians in community-based settings—a crucial consideration as clinicians often remain in the communities in which they train. Having received significant bipartisan support, the program currently trains nearly 1,200 medical and dental residents across 82 teaching health centers in nearly 30 states, resulting in over 1 million patient visits annually.
“Extending and enhancing funding for the NHSC and sustaining federal support for THCGME, which trains primary care physicians in community settings, are critical needs,” said Amanda Pears Kelly, ACU Executive Director. “As the nation faces severe healthcare workforce shortages—especially in rural and underserved areas—reauthorizing funding for these programs will help address patient care needs nationwide.”
The letter urged Congressional leadership to swiftly enact legislation to renew and enhance funding for both programs, specifically supporting the adoption of S. 2840, the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act, introduced by Sen. Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Marshall (R-KS), which would reauthorize mandatory NHSC funding at $950 million per year for three years and increase THCGME funding to $300 million per year for five years.
ACU and AATHC’s coalition of stakeholder signatories included:
- 17 national organizations including the National Hispanic Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Advocates for Community Health, and others
- 36 primary care associations
- 263 health centers
- Two hospitals and medical schools
About ACU
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is a uniquely transdisciplinary membership organization striving to establish a robust, effective workforce to help transform communities to increase access to quality health care for all. Founded in 1996 by participants in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), ACU is the foremost advocate for the NHSC and leads advocacy, clinical, operational, and other areas of excellence and supports the healthcare workforce caring for America’s under-resourced populations. To learn more about ACU, visit www.clinicians.org.
