This week, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed, and President Biden is expected to soon sign, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which included language authorizing the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program, one of NACCHO’s top legislative priorities for years.
The public health workforce – the backbone of our nation’s governmental public health system – is facing a crisis that predates COVID-19 but has worsened during the pandemic response. Governmental public health was hit hard by the 2008 recession and despite some progress between 2016 and 2019, local health departments lost 21% of their workforce capacity in the decade preceding the pandemic. A 2022 analysis found that nearly one-third of the public health workforce is considering leaving their organization in the next year, and among those considering leaving their organization, 39 percent said the pandemic made them more likely to leave. Whether or not they plan to leave, more than half of current public health workers report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and many are struggling with their mental health.
Combined, these forces create an urgency to bolster the public health workforce. Since 2020, NACCHO has led a coalition of over 100 organizations to enact legislation to establish a Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to offer up to $150,000 in loan repayment to public health professionals who agree to serve three years in a local, state, or tribal health department. With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is now directed to establish this program, which will provide health departments with a new tool to recruit and retain professionals in the field who have graduated within the past 10 years with a range of degrees vital to the needs of a 21st century public health workforce like public health, epidemiology, data systems, informatics, and statistics.
The timing of this legislation is critical. New staff have joined health departments to help protect the public during COVID-19, and the public health system needs to retain these staff long term and help ensure that their experience is harnessed to address current and future public health challenges.
NACCHO’s advocacy efforts to support the public health workforce do not end here. With the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed into law, NACCHO will work with HRSA to ensure the law is implemented effectively, and with Congress to secure the necessary funds to support the success of the program. Furthermore, NACCHO recognizes the challenges facing the public health workforce are multifaceted and pledges to continue to advocate for needed resources, tools, and protections including but not limited to mental health resources and supports, public health authorities, and protections from threats and harassment.
Finally, NACCHO thanks our many members who helped to make the passage of the Public Health Loan Repayment possible. NACCHO launched this effort in early 2020 in response to input from our members who let us know that they were being asked to do more with less labor force than ever before. Over the next three years, hundreds of you were critical in educating Congress about the challenges facing your health department and explaining how a loan repayment program could help. We could not have done this without you and we thank you for using your voice!
Learn more about the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill and what it means for public health.
