Founded in 1972, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) was designed to bring primary care health workers to the most underserved communities of the country. In exchange for their medical expertise, the Corps helps these professionals alleviate debt accumulated during the course of their education, much like the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) Foundation’s Community Practitioner Program, which uses private funds.
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act created a trust fund to support the NHSC for five years. Over the course of the last five years, Congress has cut funding several times, leaving the program completely dependent on the trust fund account, which is set to expire this year. If this happens, North Carolina would lose funding for the positions outlined in the chart below.
|
CHCs |
NC |
National |
|
| Non-Psychiatrist Physician (MD/DO) |
30 |
70 |
2,230 |
| Nurse Practitioner |
22 |
41 |
1,762 |
| Physician Assistant |
20 |
73 |
1,379 |
| Dentist (DDS/DMD) |
37 |
29 |
1,316 |
| Licensed Professional Counselor |
0 |
6 |
1,115 |
| Licensed Clinical Social Worker |
5 |
8 |
1,047 |
| Health Service Psychologist |
1 |
17 |
752 |
| Psychiatrist (MD/DO) |
1 |
3 |
247 |
| Dental Hygienist |
0 |
7 |
245 |
| Nurse Midwife |
0 |
3 |
193 |
| Marriage and Family Therapist |
0 |
0 |
172 |
| Psychiatric Nurse Specialist |
0 |
0 |
39 |
| Total |
116 |
257 |
10,497 |
Learn more about the program and its funding here. This fact sheet also is helpful to understand the NHSC and its mission.
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) launched a campaign in 2013 to save this valuable program from elimination. Learn more about the campaign.