Durbin Discusses Funding For National Health Service Corps With HRSA Administrator

The program to recruit health care workers to rural & urban areas risks losing funding if it is not reauthorized by the end of December

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with Carole Johnson, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), about reauthorizing funding for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), which is set to expire at the end of December. During their call, Durbin and Administrator Johnson spoke about Durbin's bipartisanRestoring America's Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act, which includes a three-year reauthorization that would more than double the mandatory funding from the annualized rate of $364 million up to $825 million in Fiscal Year 2026.

"Through scholarship and loan repayment awards, the National Health Service Corps is the premier program to build the pipeline of doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers across America," said Durbin. "As I made clear during my call with HRSA Administrator Johnson today, I will work to ensure this critical, bipartisan program is extended and fully funded to address health care workforce shortages in rural and urban communities."

Nearly 100 million Americans live in communities with too few doctors, and half the country lives in a mental health care desert. It is estimated that the United States needs hundreds of thousands of new nurses over the next few years, and is projected to face a shortage of 86,000 physicians over the next decade. One of the biggest barriers is the high cost of pursuing graduate education for health care providers, which can leave new doctors with an average debt of more than $200,000.

Durbin secured a historic $1 billion in scholarship and loan repayment funding for NHSC and Nurse Corps in the American Rescue Plan to recruit more doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers to underserved rural and urban areas. The NHSC addresses these workforce shortages and health disparities by enticing promising students from diverse backgrounds into health careers in underserved communities by providing scholarship and loan repayment funding in exchange for a service commitment in an urban or rural area.

In 2022, there were 20,000 NHSC doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers who treated 21 million Americans. Across Illinois, more than 935 clinicians with the NHSC serve in community health centers, rural hospitals, and other high-need care settings.

-30-