U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and a bipartisan coalition of senators have introduced a plan to increase the number of healthcare workers in rural areas. [Health News Illinois] 

The legislation, introduced last week, creates a new program under the Health Resources and Services Administration’s National Health Service Corps to test whether an increased loan repayment amount and longer service commitment would better enhance recruitment and retention of doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers in rural areas.

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Compared to the national average of 39 percent, only 26 percent of NHSC clinicians in Illinois serve in rural areas. More than 835 clinicians with the NHSC serve in Illinois’ community health centers and hospitals.  

“Patients in rural Illinois deserve to have access to quality healthcare, but serious workforce shortages force patients to wait months or travel long distances to see a medical provider,” Durbin said in a statement.

Others backers of the proposal include Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.;, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; and Shelley Moore Capito, W. Va.

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, has introduced companion legislation in the House.

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