Dr. Ruiz Introduces Bill to Address Health Care Provider Shortage

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) introduced H.R. 5458, the Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act, a bill to address the growing need for primary and specialty care providers in underserved areas by lowering barriers to access for a new generation of students interested in health care professions.

“As an emergency medicine physician, founder of the Coachella Valley Health care Initiative, and provider at the Flying Doctors events, I have seen many people in the Coachella Valley struggle to get care,” said Dr. Ruiz. “My bill aims to address our medical, dental, and mental health provider shortages by attracting new students to health care professions, improving and expanding professional school programs, and examining ways to cut burdensome regulations that disproportionately affect primary care providers. It is critical we continue to take serious steps as a community to address our healthcare provider shortage to ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare.”

“Many areas of the United States, including Inland Southern California, are facing a severe shortage of physicians. To address this, we in medical education need to build the entire educational pipeline – from encouraging more pre-college students to think about medicine as a career and supporting medical students in their studies to providing the post-M.D. training required for physicians to become fully independent and board certified,” said G. Richard Olds, M.D., Dean of the UC Riverside School of Medicine.

“By providing opportunities for states to tailor their programs to areas of greatest need, this bill will improve access to care for individuals in health professional shortage areas, medically underserved areas, and other underserved communities,” said Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“This legislation, and its companion bill in the Senate, addresses an important need for patients by creating state grants for scholarships for primary care physicians and others to serve in medically-underserved areas; creating a mentorship program; and focusing on competencies in areas such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home; chronic disease management; primary care and public health; cultural competency and team-based care,” said David Karlson, PhD, Executive Director, Society of General Internal Medicine.

The Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act seeks to address shortages of medical, dental, and mental health care providers by building upon successful federal health professional scholarships to state medical programs, increasing mentorship programs for students interested in careers in primary care, and building platforms for educational innovation in priority healthcare areas.

The bill is supported by The Alliance of Specialty Medicine, The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, The American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, The American College of Physicians, The American Osteopathic Association, The Association of Academic Health Centers, The Association of American Medical Colleges, and The Society of General Internal Medicine.

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