National Health Service Corps

ORHP 2010 Outreach Program and Network Development

Grantee MeetingAugust 3, 2010Washington, DC

An Overview of theNational Health Service Corps

What does the NHSC do?

Provides loan repayment and scholarship opportunities for primary care clinicians to:

Improve the health of the Nation’s underserved

Increase access to primary health care services

Provide quality, culturally competent care to those most in need

NHSC Loan Repayment Program

• Loan repayment for qualifying educational loans• Support of Primary Care Disciplines• Clinicians complete their service obligation at NHSC-

approved sites • Up to $145,000 of loan repayment funding for a 5-year

service commitment• 2-year initial contract for $50,000; 1 year amendments

available• Loan Repayment is Tax-free

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Half-Time Loan Repayment Pilot

• 4-year service commitment for a $50,000 loan repayment award

• Clinician works a minimum of 20 hours per week• 2-year amendments available • 400 awards planned for FY 2010• Same eligible disciplines as Full-time Program • Current NHSC Clinicians can apply for contact

modifications starting in October 2010.

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NHSC Scholarship Program

• Health Profession Students› U.S. Citizen or U.S. National› Enrolled in an accredited health professional program› Committed to pursue a primary care specialty

• The Scholarship Benefit› Pays tuitions, fees and other reasonable costs› Taxable Monthly Living Stipend - $1,326 (FY 2010)

• Competitive Program› (11:1 Applicant to Awardee ratio in 2009)

• Service obligation between 2 and 4 years in an NHSC-approved Site… Scholars serve in communities of greatest need.

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NHSC - Eligible Disciplines

• Primary Care Physicians MD/DO (Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Geriatrics Pediatrics, Psychiatry & OB/GYN)

• Primary Care Nurse Practitioners (Adult, Family, Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Psychiatric & Women’s Health)

• Primary Care Physician Assistants

• Certified Nurse Midwives• Dentists

• Dental Hygienists• Psychiatric Nurse

Specialists• Health Service

Psychologists• Licensed Clinical Social

Workers• Licensed Professional

Counselors• Marriage and Family

Therapists

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Scholarship and Loan Repayment Eligible

Disciplines

Loan Repayment Eligible Only

Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Designation

Service obligation

HPSA score (the higher the score, the greater the need)

Type of HPSAs- primary care- dental- mental health

NHSC Site Eligibility: Types of SitesA community site must submit an NHSC Multi-year Recruitment and Retention (R&R) Assistance application

•Federally Qualified Health Centers (and Look-alikes)

•Private practices (Solo and Group)

•Migrant Health Centers

•Rural Health Clinics

•Indian Health Service/Tribal Health Centers

•State and Federal Prisons

•Community Mental Health Centers

•Managed Care Networks

•Health Departments

•Full listing at http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/communities

Rural Health Clinicsas of July 16, 2010

Source: Geospatial Warehouse

NHSC Site Eligibility: Services Provided

Provide comprehensive primary care medicine, primary care dentistry and primary care mental and behavioral health services

Ambulatory (no inpatient sites) Ensure access to ancillary, inpatient

and specialty referrals

NHSC Site Eligibility: Charges for Services

Ensure no financial barriers to care exist; Fees for service consistent with prevailing rates

in area Discounts or waives fees for individuals at or

below 200% of the Federal poverty level Accepts assignments for Medicare beneficiaries

and enters into agreements with Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance programs

Prominently posts signage pertaining to discount or waiver of fees for service(s)

NHSC Today

• More than 30,000 clinicians have served as NHSC Members:

› Expanding access to health care;› Improving health outcomes of people who live in

urban and rural areas, where health care is often scarce;

› Gaining experience to create future leadership in primary care education and advocacy work.

• NHSC family consists of more than 6,300 clinicians currently serving

• NHSC clinicians are increasing at a record pace

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Recovery Act of 2009

• NHSC received $300 million to expand the primary care workforce› 4,000 awards Loan Repayment Awards (2009-2011)› 200+ NHSC Scholarships (2009-2010)› 300+ awards via State Loan Repayment Program› 28 SEARCH Awards

• Highly visible & positive press for program• Funds available through 2011

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2009-2010 ARRA Loan Repayment Awards – Success!!!!

829998

1170

16021745

2076

2548

3000 2824

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10

Actual Planned

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ARRA LRP Awards by Discipline

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NHSC 2010 Accomplishments• Significantly Streamlined the LRP & Scholarship Applications

• Reengineered the Application Processes› New approach to processing Consolidated Loans

• Elimination of FOIA Requests to obtain NHSC data – Published April 8, 2010; Data Use Policy under development

• Part-Time LRP Pilot – May 2010

• NHSC Forums (6)

• Doubled the NHSC LRP Field Strength

NHSC Field Strength

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*Projections based on President’s Budget , Recovery Act & Affordable Care Act Funding

Affordability Care Act (ACA)

• Reauthorization of NHSC Program through 2015• Increases maximum loan repayment amount

from a maximum of $35,000 to $50,000• Half-time Loan Repayment; 2 & 4 year contracts• Teaching as clinical practice—up to 20% of

credit of obligated service• Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical

Program-up to 50% credit if obligated service• Community Health Centers and NHSC Funds

› FY2011: $290 million; increase by $5 million/year

Contact/Website Information

• NHSC website› http://www.nhsc.hrsa.gov› http://nhscjobs.hrsa.gov› htttp://nhsc.hrsa.gov/communities/

• HRSA Regional Offices› http://www.hrsa.gov/about/organization/bureaus/oro/keystaff.html

• Recruitment and Retention Assistance Application› http://www.nhsc.hrsa.gov/communities/

• NHSC Half-time Program› http://www.nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/halftime

• Facebook› http://www.facebook.com/nationalhealthservicecorps

• YouTube› http://www.youtube.com/hrsatube

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Contact Information

Division of Site and Clinician RecruitmentBureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service

Health Resources and Services Administration

Lori RocheDeputy Director(301) 443-0652LRoche@hrsa.gov

Tracy McClintock, MBA, BAPublic Health Analyst(301) 443-4413

tmcclintock@hrsa.gov

Questions