An ACA side dish to be thankful for

A few provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will have far-reaching consequences that many Americans may not know about, or comprehend the importance of. One of these overlooked provisions, a healthy side dish for the health reform Thanksgiving table, as it were, is the additional funding being provided for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) under the ACA. The HHS has just announced the launch of the new NHSC application cycle.

In exchange for two years of service at health care facilities in medically underserved areas, the NHSC offers primary care medical, dental and mental health clinicians up to $60,000 to repay their student loans. In accordance with the ACA, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in the program this year. The ACA also provides more flexibility in how the NHSC administers the loan repayment program. In addition to monetary awards that are higher than previous years, the NHSC will give members the option of working half-time to fulfill their service obligation and provide credit for some teaching hours.

The ACA section providing this funding recently drew praise from Doctors for America (drsforamerica.org), which stated, "For medical students considering a primary care career in underserved areas, reform makes this a realistic option. Over 7 million patients rely on NHSC clinicians, and we support expansion of this program to provide care to those who need it most. The benefits of NHSC go well beyond the year or two of financial support; 80% of clinicians continue working in an underserved community after completing their initial commitment."

Appropriations out of any nonappropriated Treasury funds are authorized in the following amounts (PHSA Sec. 338H(a), as amended by Act Sec. 5207 of the Affordable Care Act):

$320,461,632 for fiscal year 2010; $414,095,394 for fiscal year 2011; $535,087,442 for fiscal year 2012; $691,431,432 for fiscal year 2013; $893,456,433 for fiscal year 2014; and $1,154,510,336 for fiscal year 2015.

And, according to the HHS, the ACA will not only grant monetary awards that are higher than those of previous years, the NHSC will now give members the option of working half-time to fulfill their service obligation and provide credit for some teaching hours.

For a comprehensive analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the full text of the law and additional information on health reform and other developments in employee benefits, just click here.