New Loan Repayment Program for PCPs to Improve Access to Care
First Deadline for Applications is June 1
Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Partners HealthCare and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers are teaming up to address the current shortage of primary care physicians, particularly at community health centers.
With $5 million in funding from Bank of America, medical students, residents and newly practicing health center physicians who agree to work in primary care in community health centers for at least two years can apply for funds to help repay their educational loans.
This new Primary Care Physician Loan Repayment Program provides up to $25,000 a year for up to three years for those who work at one of 24 community health centers in eastern Massachusetts. This maximum $75,000 in loan repayment represents approximately 60 percent of the average medical school debt of $130,000.
"Fewer medical students are choosing primary care, which is resulting in a national shortage of PCPs," said Robert Goldszer, MD, MBA, associate chief medical officer and director of Primary Care at BWH. "Community health centers especially are affected by the shortage, and this creates a problem for patients trying to access primary care."
In addition to a critical shortage of PCPs, Massachusetts is pushing forward with health care reform to allow more low- and moderate-income individuals to become insured and have more access to primary and preventive care.
"Massachusetts has made a huge investment in the health of its citizens with the passage of its health care reform law," said Bank of America Chief Marketing Officer and Northeast President Anne M. Finucane. "We applaud them and are proud to take this opportunity to join Partners HealthCare and the Commonwealth in helping the state's low- and moderate-income citizens realize the promise of health care coverage."
To achieve that goal, the Primary Care Physician Loan Repayment Program seeks to attract more than 50 new doctors to primary care practice in Massachusetts, thereby creating openings for 65,000 additional patients, or roughly one million new patient visits over the next five years. The program also aims to create new programs to train primary care physicians.
The House and Senate have each included $1.7 million in their FY08 budgets as the first of a proposed three-year commitment to match the Bank of America funding. There is optimism that this funding will be included in the final FY08 state budget.
Applications to the program will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with the first round of applications due June 1, and decisions announced July 1. For more information on the program and application forms, visit the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Web site at www.massleague.org