Funding Quality of Care

One of the big issues that came up during the health care reform discussion was the growing lack of availability of physicians and other health care professionals. Without a significant amount of physicians who can take care of the extra people the new law intends to cover, the quality of care will suffer throughout the entire medical system.

By 2014, it is expected that there will be a shortfall of 21,000 primary care providers. The figures are even higher according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. They predict a shortfall of 42,000 primary-care doctors in 2020 and 47,000 in 2025.

An aging population and a decline of students enrolling in primary care practice are leading to this decrease. Add the increasing number of retiring health practitioners and it is apparent why the situation is so dire.

As part of the new health reform law, The Prevention and Public Health Fund is supposed to remedy the future situation by creating funding to increase the number of primary care providers. The federal government has allocated $250 million in programs aimed to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other health care providers.

Over the next five years, a total of $168 million will be distributed to train 500 new primary care physicians, while $30 million will be allocated to 600 new primary care nursing students and $32 million for 600 new physician assistants. Some of the money will go to loan forgiveness for medical school graduates who agree to go into primary care in underserved urban and rural areas.