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Sarbanes Reintroduces Bill to Bring More Doctors to Veterans Health Clinics, Community Health Centers and Schools

December 10, 2015

Primary Care Physician Reentry Act Would Reduce America’s Shortage of Primary Care Physicians and Provide Communities with More Access to Quality Health Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today introduced the Primary Care Physician Reentry Act, which would tackle America's shortage of primary care physicians by supporting programs that retrain doctors to work in health centers that serve veterans, local communities and schools.

The bill would help medical schools, hospitals and nonprofit organizations provide training and education programs to physicians who have left medical practice for a variety of reasons, including to raise their families, to retire or for a career in administration or academia. Participating doctors would be retrained and credentialed to serve as primary care physicians at VA medical centers, community health centers and school-based health centers.

"Many communities across the nation are in need of qualified primary care physicians," said Congressman Sarbanes. "This bill will help fill the doctor shortage in these communities by enabling qualified and well-trained physicians to reenter the medical workforce."

The Primary Care Physician Reentry Act is supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, American Osteopathic Association, the Federation of State Medical Boards and the School-Based Health Alliance.

To learn more about physician reentry, visit: http://physician-reentry.org/.

Issues:Health Care