Ranking Member Takano and Rep. Dunn Introduce Bill to Address VA Physician Staffing Shortage

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Representative Neal Dunn, M.D. (FL-02), introduced the Supporting Medical Students and VA Workforce Act. This bill will help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) address physician recruitment and retention challenges by funding the education of veteran-oriented, mission-focused physicians. 

“I am glad to work with Dr. Dunn on this bill to provide assistance to students who are pursuing a career in medicine while strengthening VA’s physician workforce,” said Ranking Member Takano. “VA clinicians deliver high-quality healthcare specific to veterans’ needs at more than 1,100 hospitals and outpatient clinics nationwide. With more and more veterans accessing healthcare at VA, we must make sure VA has enough staffing to keep up with the demand. I am proud that this bill will do that while also helping to educate the next generation of public health professionals.” 

“This bill is a dual-purposed solution. By incentivizing the training, recruitment, and retention of qualified medical professionals, we allow our Public Health Service junior officers to fulfill their public health service obligation while also addressing the persistent physician staffing shortages at VA. As a veteran of the U.S. Army and a former army surgeon, ensuring our men and women in uniform get the support they need is one of my top priorities in Congress,” said Representative Dunn.  

The Supporting Medical Students and VA Workforce Act will create a scholarship program, through which VA would pay for scholarships for individuals to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) to become junior officers of the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service. In exchange, following completion of their residencies, recipients of the scholarships will serve as VA physicians to fulfill their public health service obligation. This will help address physician staffing shortages at VA, as these newly trained physicians will be deployable to rural or other underserved VA medical facilities. 

The bipartisan Supporting Medical Students and VA Workforce Act will be considered at a House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health legislative hearing on Tuesday, December 17th. 

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