Study: Primary care shortage must be addressed before expansion of health insurance

A new report released by the National Association of Community Health Centers found that the lack of primary care professionals, especially in areas with the greatest need, is contributing to America’s health care insufficiencies.

The study, conducted by NACHC, the Robert Graham Center and George Washington University, found that the majority of primary care physicians fail to work in low-income communities that need them most, and growing patient needs in these areas will continue to put stress on the health care system.

“ACCESS Transformed: Building a Primary Care Workforce for the 21st Century” emphasizes that community health centers are paramount in controlling costs and providing high-quality care, but changes must be made in U.S. health workforce policies to make significant improvements. Specifically, the authors of the study found that to reach 30 million patients by the year 2015, health centers need nearly 16,000 more primary care providers and more than 14,000 additional nurses. To provide a medical home to all 56 million medically disenfranchised Americans nationwide, health care centers would need nearly 66,000 more primary care professionals and almost 45,000 additional nurses, according to a press release about the study.

The authors suggest taking measures such as increasing staffing efforts, adopting a full range of preventive and chronic care, using targeted interventions to place primary care professionals in underserved areas and expanding training opportunities. They also propose incentives for health care professionals who relocate to underserved areas, reimbursement for primary care services, and expansion of the National Health Service Corps, which places primary care physicians in needy areas.

NACHC is a national organization dedicated to expanding health care access for America’s medically underserved through the community-based health center model.

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To access a complete copy fo the report or for more information on this study and others, go to the organization’s Web site.