ACA Facts: Workforce Provisions: Primary care training grants

October 23, 2012

Workforce Provisions: Primary Care Training Grants

Title V of the ACA provides improved access to and the delivery of health care services for all individuals, particularly low income, underserved, uninsured, minority, health disparity, and rural populations by increasing the supply of qualified health care workforce. In 2010, a new section, Primary Care Training and Enhancement, was added to the Public Health Service Act through the ACA. This new provision creates the opportunity for accredited hospitals, nonprofits, schools of medicine, etc. to receive 5-year grants during FY 2011 and FY2015, in order to establish training programs in the field of family medicine, general pediatrics, or general internal medicine. The list of qualifications for eligible entities is based on a set of activities that it must carry out to receive and maintain the funding, including providing need-based financial assistance in the form of fellowships to medical students and interns, and to plan, develop, creating and supporting an accredited residency or internship program, and operating a program for the training of physicians teaching in community-based settings. Additionally, section 5402 provides loan repayments and fellowships for faculty and disadvantaged students who commit to work in medically underserved areas as primary care providers. $50 million is authorized for FY 2010 through 2015.