By Lauren Johnson
While Alabama is facing a workforce shortage in various healthcare fields, BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama (BCBS) is addressing this issue by creating a Medical Scholarship Program to help fill the demand for physicians in rural areas of the state. Established in 2016, the BCBS program pays for the recipients last two years of medical school, and the recipient agrees to practice in an underserved area for at least three years after graduation.
“We have to make a lot of important decisions when we go into healthcare, but BlueCross removes the worry about paying back debt,” said Sabrina Belizaire, ACOM medical student and scholarship recipient. “I’m thankful for BlueCross doing this.”
“The original program had $11 million dollars allocated, and we did that for five years,” said Darrel Weaver, MD, the Vice President of Provider Engagement and Support with BCBS. “When that ran out, we were excited with the success, so we decided to do it all over again.”
At the beginning, the scholarship program was designed to help steer young doctors into three fields that faced the highest shortages – primary care, obstetrics and behavioral health. By 2024, BCBS added scholarships for students in dentistry, certified nurse midwifery and registered nursing.
So far, the program has awarded 151 medical scholarships with 60 physicians now practicing in rural Alabama communities. After the current recipients of the primary care scholarship complete their education, BCBS expects to see approximately 256 physicians join the healthcare workforce in Alabama.
“When combined with registered nurses, certified nurse midwives and other healthcare professionals now participating in the program, approximately 405 healthcare providers are expected to practice in underserved areas of Alabama,” according to a BlueCross press release.
“I hope we see a significant number of doctors in these smaller towns and cities. They need medical care,” Weaver said. “And it’s important for economic development for the state. When businesses think about relocating, they look for a few things –good schools and good healthcare in the area.”
For the second round of the scholarship program, BlueCross allocated $15 million and made a few adjustments, specifically for obstetric physicians and psychiatrists.
“As we realized the lack of doctors delivering babies in the state was even more acute, we decided to cover three years of medical school to students who would become an OB/GYN. There is also a Family Medicine Obstetrics (FMOB) path,” Weaver said.
Students entering the field of psychiatry also qualify for the scholarship which will pay for their last three years of school. Because a large percentage of behavioral health medicine is now virtual, the recipient won’t have to move to the rural location. They are allowed to live anywhere as long as they serve patients across Alabama.
This is a big step not only to encourage students to pursue these medical fields that are seeing shortages, but also in alleviating financial burdens on students.
“Let’s say you borrowed $200,000 in student loans. To pay that back, you have to generate around $500,000 worth of income because 70 to 75 percent of that goes out in the form of salaries, office rent, electric bills, and more,” Weaver said. “A scholarship puts them ahead of the game. It makes it easier to go into practice in a rural location.”
“The scholarship is a major blessing,” said Will Maitre, UAB medical student and scholarship recipient. “I’m so thankful for it because it allows me to serve and provide the best care that I can without a major financial burden.”
Weaver hopes that having less debt will encourage recipients to stay in the community they’ve served as part of the scholarship requirement.
“We are seeing the results that we were hoping for from our scholarship program,” Tim Vines, President and CEO of BCBS of Alabama, said. “We are grateful to all the graduates for their willingness to serve and provide quality healthcare to those living in underserved areas of Alabama. The impact we are seeing would also not be possible without the collaboration of our college and university partners.”
Weaver and BlueCross are deciding what round three of the scholarship program should look like. They’re in the process of collecting requests and data on what is needed most.