On Nov. 18, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Bolstering Infectious Outbreak (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act via a press release. The BIO Preparedness Workforce Act aims to address retention and recruitment issues facing vital clinicians and public health professionals and better prepare the U.S. healthcare system for future public health emergencies.
The press release states that “The bipartisan legislation would establish a new student loan repayment program for infectious disease (ID) clinicians and other public health preparedness and response professionals who work in healthcare settings.”
Further, “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and weaknesses in our nation’s preparedness for public health emergencies related to infectious disease outbreaks, including insufficient workforce capacity focused on outbreak preparedness and response in healthcare settings. Prolonged, significant additional work (including both direct patient care and system-focused preparedness and response activities) in an environment of health risks, uncertainty, and overwhelming loss of patient lives has contributed to severe burnout among physicians, nurses, laboratory professionals and others. This has led some to consider early retirement, exacerbating existing workforce concerns and threatening the future of this critical workforce.”
“The bipartisan BIO Preparedness Workforce Act would establish a new student loan repayment program for infectious disease clinicians and bio-preparedness healthcare professionals including physicians, clinical pharmacists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses,” the release states. “For each year of service, qualified individuals may receive up to $50,000, up to a total of $150,000 in loan repayment, with $50 million authorized for the program.”
Senator Baldwin said in a statement that “The COVID-19 pandemic put a major strain on our healthcare system, especially among our infectious diseases clinical workforce and public health professionals who specialize in bio-preparedness. This bipartisan legislation will strengthen our workforce to help get through this pandemic, and make sure we are better prepared for future public health emergencies. need to use all the tools in the toolbox to be better prepared, and that starts with making sure we support and grow our infectious disease and pandemic preparedness workforce.”
