A bill sponsored by Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Tuscumbia) could open the door for more family practice physicians in rural Alabama.
Senate Bill 210 would authorize the Alabama Medical Education Consortium to administer up to 25 scholarships annually to medical students who are on a family practice track and attend one of Alabama’s four colleges of medicine. The scholarships would pay tuition for up to four years for the students, and in return the prospective physicians commit to family practice in a rural Alabama county for at least five years after completing their medical residency program.
“The scholarships are available to students who attend any of the four medical schools in Alabama,” Stutts said. “By the federal definition of underserved areas for physicians, 62 of 67 Alabama counties meet the definition of marginally underserved and more than 50 meet the definition of significantly underserved.
“The aim of Senate Bill 210 is to incentivize our in-state medical students to stay in Alabama and practice medicine in underserved counties.”
A 2017 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) found that Alabama has only 76 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, a rate that’s the seventh-lowest in the country. AAMC’s chief publicity officer, Dr. Atul Grover, said that creates a critical situation for the state.
“We do have concerns when the numbers get below 100 primary care physicians per 100,000 people,” Grover said. “I’m worried people aren’t going to have access to primary care.”
The bill has 13 co-sponsors, including four Democratic state senators. It remains in the Senate’s Finance and Taxation (Education) Committee awaiting a vote. The bill has met with opposition from officials with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and the University of South Alabama School of Medicine. This opposition, Stutts explained, was due to the inclusion of the state’s two other medical schools, the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Auburn.
“When this bill was brought to me, I didn’t want it to be for one particular school,” Stutts said. “I want it to be for all medical schools in our state. Two years ago, I counted seven doctors on staff at Helen Keller Hospital who had children in medical school, and six of the seven were in one of the osteopathic schools. I’ve had osteopath students do their rotations in my office over the last 20 years.
“Dr. Brent Boyett in Hamilton went to osteopathic school in Kansas City and did his third and fourth year rotations in Alabama, including an OB/Gyn rotation in my office. Dr. Jeff Hovater is one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the state and is the team doctor for the University of North Alabama. He’s a top-notch orthopedic surgeon, and he went to osteopathic school.”
The bill caught the eye of Paul Storey, president of Helen Keller Hospital, who wholeheartedly supports the idea.
“It is imperative that we open up the recruiting pipeline of quality doctors to rural Alabama,” Storey said. “I have been in healthcare for 26 years, and the challenge of recruiting physicians to rural areas has never been harder. I appreciate Senator Stutts carrying this legislation. It’s an innovative idea that will increase the number of doctors practicing in rural Alabama.”
The scholarships, up to 25 per year, will be administered by the Alabama Medical Education Consortium (AMEC). Applications would be received by AMEC’s board, and the board will decide on the scholarship recipients.
“These are people who have a vested interest in getting primary care to rural areas of Alabama,” Stutts said. “They are from across the state. Between 65 and 70 percent of people end up practicing in the area where they received their medical training during residency.
“The intent is to get home-grown doctors in Alabama. We’ll grow them here, train them here and place them in Alabama. It benefits a kid who is smart and can make it academically but doesn’t have the financial resources to pay his or her way through school.”
Because the bill involves the use of state funds, Stutts said he would amend SB 210 to include a provision that the President Pro Tempore of the Alabama Senate and the Speaker of the House each can appoint two members to the scholarship board to make sure there is legislative oversight over the state funds.
At least one media report regarding SB 210 criticized Stutts for introducing a bill that placed control of the scholarship program with AMEC, which along with the Houston County Healthcare Authority, formed a partnership that created the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2010.
Stutts said the bill doesn’t provide for any exclusivity or favorable consideration for students of the the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine over any of the state’s other three medical schools. Stutts’ son recently enrolled in the Dothan-based medical school, but Stutts said his son would not qualify for, nor would he apply for, one of the need-based scholarships.
