Washington Highlights: October 29,
2004
HRSA Primary Care
Advisory Committee Considers Reports
Contents
Prior Issues
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The Advisory Committee
on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) met
Oct. 21-22. The Committee is designed to provide advice and recommendations
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the primary care
medicine, dentistry and physician assistant health professions programs
authorized under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. It
is directed to produce annual reports to Congress on its activities.
The Committee met to finalize its fourth report on the critical
role of the primary care programs and work on a fifth report, which
will address outcomes measurement. The fourth report is due to be
released in November. Bureau of Health Professions Associate Administrator
Kerry Nesseler began the meeting with an update on recent activities,
including a reorganization and new staff. She highlighted the Bureau's
work on its strategic plan, which will incorporate health outcomes,
and the All Grantee Conference scheduled for June 1-3, 2005. Other
speakers provided perspectives on appropriate outcomes measurements
for he primary care programs and a legislative update.
The committee elected a new chair, Eugene Rich, M.D., professor
and chair of the Department of Medicine at Creighton University
in Omaha, Nebraska.
Information:
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Corporate Tax Bill Includes NHSC LRP Exemption
The "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004" (H.R.
4520, P.L. 108-357), signed by President Bush on Oct. 22, includes
a provision making awards under the National Health Service Corps
(NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) and certain state loan repayment
programs exempt from gross income for tax purposes. Currently, the
NHSC makes awards of up to $35,000 annually to health care providers
who provide primary care services in federally-designated health
care shortage areas. The awards also include an additional payment
equal to 39 percent of the award to cover the associated tax burden.
Enactment of this proposal, which is effective for tax years after
Dec. 31, 2003, makes the NHSC and state loan repayment programs
consistent with the tax-exempt status of awards under the NHSC Scholarship
Program.
Information:
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
New NIEHS Director Named
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D.,
Oct. 26 announced the appointment of David A. Schwartz, M.D., as
the new director of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS) at the NIH. Dr. Schwartz currently serves as Director
of the Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division and Vice Chair
of research in the Department of Medicine at Duke University. He
received his B.A. degree in biology from the University of Rochester,
his M.D., from the University of California-San Diego, and his M.P.H.
from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Schwartz will begin
his appointment on April 4, 2005, replacing Kenneth Olden, Ph.D.,
who has led NIEHS since 1991.
NIH Announces Unprecedented Number of Loan Repayment
Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Oct. 25 that
it has awarded 1,407 loan repayment
awards for FY 2004, a 17.5 percent increase over the previous year,
bringing the program's total to over 3,200 awards since its inception
in FY 2002. The FY 2004 contracts totaled $68 million, for an average
of $48,300. The NIH loan repayment programs provide up to $35,000
annually to repay educational debt for individuals pursuing careers
in selected areas of research. The program also covers the cost
of the associated tax burden.
Individuals seeking awards must hold doctoral level degrees; devote
50 percent or more of their time to research; be US citizens, permanent
residents or US nationals; and have educational debt equal to or
greater than 20 percent of their institutional base salary. In FY
2004, 40 percent of awardees held M.D. degrees, 34 percent held
Ph.D. degrees, and 9 percent held M.D., Ph.D., degrees.
The NIH administers five loan repayment programs addressing clinical
research, clinical research for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds,
contraception and infertility research, health disparities research,
and pediatric research. The online application deadline is Dec.
15.
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