A key change approved by the Alabama Legislature will make it easier to place doctors in rural communities. The legislation modernizes how the Alabama Board of Medical Scholarship Awards identifies underserved areas by incorporating federally-designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas.
As a result, more rural communities can qualify for physicians through the program, and these physicians qualify for loan forgiveness by practicing in rural communities.
“This is the kind of smart change we need to strengthen rural healthcare,” said Nina Ford Johnson, MD, President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. As Alabama faces a growing physician shortage, MASA has made physician workforce development a top priority.
The medical scholarship program provides loans, typically around $200,000, to medical students and residents who commit to practicing in underserved communities, and those loans are forgiven through service.
The Legislature voted to allocate $2.44 million to the program this fiscal year, including:
Nearly $1.94 million for physician scholarships to support nine new doctors.
$500,000 for a Physician Assistant loan program.
The program has proven to be an effective tool for recruiting and retaining primary care physicians in rural communities:
89 percent of recipients serve in communities with a population of 15,000 or less.
36 percent serve in communities of 5,000 or less.
95 percent remain in Alabama to practice medicine following their completion of service.