Congress recognized that the federal government has some responsibility to educate health care professionals and several provisions of the ACA address the concerns raised in Part II. The ACA attempts to increase the health care workforce in underserved areas and also addresses issues of diversity training for health care workers. Further, the new law also discusses the aging of America.
A. Increase Workforce
Several provisions of the ACA address the physician workforce. *75 Recognizing that numbers of primary care physicians are on the decline, the ACA not only creates new education and training programs but also expands existing programs. Sections 5201 and 5301 encourage medical students to work as primary care physicians. For example, the ACA amends the Public Health Service Act to require medical students who receive loan funds “to practice in primary care for 10 years . . . or until the loan is repaid, whichever comes first.” The ACA also amends the Public Health Service Act to provide grants to entities for programs that train primary care professionals and other underserved communities, such as rural areas.
Most of the assistance provided through the ACA is through grants. For example, the ACA encourages primary residency training through teaching health center development grants. The centers include several entities, including Rural Health Clinics. The rural physician training grants established under the ACA encourage medical schools to recruit students who will likely practice in “underserved rural communities” by providing grants and training to such students.
B. Diversity Training
The ACA addresses the issue of cultural competency with workforce diversity training in several sections. These sections deal primarily with racial and ethnic diversity of health care professionals.
The ACA enables the Secretary of Health and Human Services to facilitate cultural competency training for health professionals through provision of grants for “research, demonstration projects and model curricula.” After collaborating with select entities to develop training, the Secretary must evaluate the curricula by collaborating with “health *76 professional societies, licensing and accreditation entities, health professions schools, and experts in minority health and cultural competency, prevention and public health and disability groups, [and] community-based organizations . . . .” An internet clearinghouse will be used to disseminate any model curricula.
Section 5402 supports diversity training for health professionals when it authorizes appropriations for educational assistance and increases the annual limit on the loan repayment amount to $30,000. Diversity training will help ensure culturally competent health professionals. The section also authorizes appropriations for educational loan repayments for disadvantaged individuals who serve as medical school faculty, scholarships for disadvantaged students, reauthorization for loan repayments and fellowships regarding faculty positions, and reauthorization for education assistance in the health professions regarding individuals from a disadvantaged background.
C. Elderly Population
Provisions of the ACA also address the issue of geriatric services. As the population ages, the workforce must be trained to care for the needs of the population. The ACA amends the Public Health Service Act to provide two new sections with respect to the geriatric workforce. First, grants are available to entities that “operate a Geriatric Education Center.” Incentives are also available to certain health care professionals who are “entering the field of geriatrics, long-term care, and chronic care management.”
