Bill Introduced To Address Primary Care Shortage

SEATTLE, Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Senator David Frockt (46^th District) introduced a bill that takes immediate steps toward reducing Washington state's serious primary care shortage and encouraging primary care providers, behavioral health practitioners, and dental professionals to practice in underserved areas. A group of Washington's leading provider organizations representing dentists, physicians, nurses, community health centers, and hospitals applauded his leadership and put their support behind the bill.

Sen. Frockt's bill (SB 5010) would allocate $8 million in the 2015-2017 biennium for Washington's Health Professional Loan Repayment and Scholarship Fund, which encourages healthcare students and qualified healthcare professionals to practice in underserved areas by helping pay down the tremendous cost of student loans.

Sen. Frockt stated, "Medicaid expansion and Qualified Health Plans through the Health Benefit Exchange extended health insurance to more than 600,000 individuals in Washington who did not previously have coverage, which is significant. But we must have an adequate workforce to meet this increased demand. Providing underserved communities additional resources to recruit qualified health professionals reinforces the state's commitment to improve access to comprehensive healthcare for all persons in Washington."

In a recent study, the Robert Graham Center projects that to maintain the current primary care utilization rates, Washington state will need an additional 1,695 primary care physicians by 2030, a 32% increase from the state's current 5,141 primary care physician workforce. [i] In addition, the state's physician workforce is aging, with two-thirds of physicians in rural counties age 55 or older[ii], and about one in five primary care physicians planning to retire in the next few years[iii], according to reports by the WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies.

"Having access to insurance coverage does not guarantee access to care," said Brian Seppi, MD, president of the Washington State Medical Association. "There must be healthcare professionals available to treat these patients, particularly in underserved areas. Student loan repayment is a proven way to encourage primary care providers starting out their careers to settle in these underserved areas."

According to Teresita Batayola, president of the Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers, "This is an essential recruitment and retention tool for key safety net providers, such as community health centers, to secure a reliable workforce for underserved populations and in urban and rural areas across the state."

Elizabeth Jensen, a pharmacist at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Toppenish and participant in the loan repayment program, stated "It draws many new clinicians to our practice. Though I really enjoy my work setting and my clientele, I can admit that the repayment program opened my eyes to this site. I think that once you can draw clinicians to the sites, it allows them to see the need and the rewarding nature of the work, and makes them want to stay."

"Recruiting primary care and mental health professionals to underserved areas is a challenge," said Scott Bond, president of the Washington State Hospital Association. "Student loan repayment is an important tool in the tool box for hospitals and clinics, who are working to ensure access to top-quality providers."

According to Dr. Gregory Ogata, president of the Washington State Dental Association, "The majority of dentists coming out of dental school today are faced with crippling student loan debt. According to the American Dental Education Association, the average debt for dental school students graduating in 2014 was approximately $247,227. The Health Professional Loan Repayment Program allows dentists to work in underserved and rural areas while receiving loan repayment assistance. Without this program, many new dentists would be unable to work in underserved and rural areas due to such significant debt loads."

The state's major provider groups – Community Health Network of Washington, Washington Association of Community & Migrant Health Centers, Washington State Dental Association, Washington State Hospital Association, Washington State Medical Association, and Washington State Nurses Association – are calling on Governor Inslee and the legislature to expand funding of this program, which was cut by 87% in 2011.

[i] Petterson, Stephen M; Cai, Angela; Moore, Miranda, Bazemore, Andrew. State-level projections of primary care workforce, 2010-2013. September 2013, Robert Graham Center, Washington, DC.

[ii] Skillman, Susan M; Stover, Bert. Washington State's Physician Workforce in 2014. WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies, Seattle, WA.

[iii] Skillman, Susan M; Fordyce, Marilyn A.; Yen, Wei; Mounts, Thea. Washington State Primary Care Provider Survey, 2011-12. August 2012, WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies, Seattle, WA.

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SOURCE Washington State Medical Association

Related Links

http://www.wsma.org