US Reps. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Carol Miller (R-WV) have re-introduced a bill aimed at increasing and strengthening the pipeline of healthcare professionals in rural and underserved areas by enabling scholarship and grant recipients to keep more of their awards.
The bipartisan Strengthening Pathways to Health Professions Act originally was introduced toward the end of the previous session of Congress.
“Individuals in the healthcare industry should receive the full amount of the scholarship or grant they receive, and this legislation will help grow and strengthen the medical field,” Miller said previously.
“The shortage of healthcare workers in the United States has left millions of patients without access to the care they need while causing undue stress and strain on the current workforce,” Tokuda said. “Without further action, tough working conditions and increased financial barriers will only continue to discourage more people from joining the profession.”
The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude some health professionals’ education-related scholarship and loan payments from calculations of their gross income. It would provide tax-exempt status to certain federal scholarship and loan repayment programs at the Health Resources and Services Administration, including the Nurse Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs, the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program and the Faculty Loan Repayment Program.
“Exempting scholarships and loan repayment awards from federal income tax would allow HRSA to make additional and higher awards to increase program participation. Furthermore, awardees — students, residents, faculty, and providers — would receive the full financial benefit of their awards to cover educational costs without the added tax burden,” the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living said Tuesday.
In addition to being endorsed by AHCA / NCAL, the Strengthening Pathways to Health Professions Act also is backed by LeadingAge, the American Geriatrics Society and scores of other national and local organizations.
“There is a tremendous need for more, not less, investment in the aging services sector, with a specific focus on our critical workforce. Without staff, there is no care,” a spokesperson for LeadingAge previously told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee for further review.
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