National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps Priorities

The Council’s main goal is to achieve improved access to primary care for the underserved. The Council believes that primary health care should be within the reach of every American, regardless of income or location.

The number of Americans who are underserved and lack access to primary care is more than 50 million and still growing.  These individuals are often forced to utilize emergency rooms—or go without medical care entirely—because they do not have access to primary care.  This creates additional stress on an already overburdened health care system.   The NHSC is a crucial part of the solution:  placing clinicians where they can effectively address the most critical needs. 

The programs of the NHSC do exactly that, and they have proven results.  Each primary care physician brings health care access to 2,000 more patients on average. ^[5]   Thus, increasing the NHSC’s field strength with 5,000 more clinicians will provide another 10,000,000 underserved Americans with needed primary care.  If these underserved Americans do not receive the primary care they need, they will face higher costs and lower quality in America’s currently overspecialized system. ^[6]

The Presidential Initiative to Strengthen the Health Care Safety Net is already in the process of expanding or creating 1,200 Community Health Centers (CHCs) in areas with the greatest need.  It will require 3,000 new clinicians for those new CHCs to achieve full staff.  The NHSC can serve as a crucial staffing resource for those CHCs, as well as other underserved areas.  The NHSC and CHC programs are a valuable partnership of strong, successful programs with a positive impact on health care.  Allowing the two programs to grow together creates economies of scale and dramatic cost savings by leveraging recruiting, placement, and service objectives of each program.

There is an urgent need for an estimated 27,000 additional clinicians to help close our nation’s gap in access to primary care.  With a five-year plan to more than double the number of clinicians in the NHSC to 10,000 and provide for the infrastructure to support that growth, the Council sees an opportunity to make progress toward the goal of primary health care for every American by investing in clinicians who will address the lack of access in underserved communities.  By also working to build awareness of the NHSC’s programs and services, the NHSC will reach even more potential clients and clinicians, improving American health care nationwide. 

While the NHSC works to fill the health care gap for the nation’s underserved, the Council is also mindful of future health care needs.  Through increased support of the NHSC infrastructure, not only will the Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs grow, but overall awareness will reach more students, clinicians and communities about the opportunities to serve the underserved.  By continuing to analyze needs and determine appropriate strategic solutions, the Council is advocating for funding to build an infrastructure to support steady growth in the number of clinicians over the next five years.  This strategy will enable the NHSC to contribute to the President’s goal of strengthening the Health Care Safety Net. 

[D]

The Council recommends reauthorization of the NHSC for five years, and protection and enhancement of NHSC funding to at least double its capacity.  The Council also recommends legislative changes to increase program flexibility and efficiency.