Overview
Federally funded programs such as the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME), Nurse Corps, Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship, and Oral Health Training support CHCs in training, recruiting and retaining the highest quality workforce they need to become employers, providers and partners of choice in every community.
Community Health Centers (CHCs) rely on an interdisciplinary workforce to provide integrated access to comprehensive primary care, behavioral health, dental, vision, hearing, pharmacy and enabling services at affordable prices.
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Take Action:
Email and call your Members of Congress to support the bipartisan Health Care Workforce Innovation Act (H.R. 935/S. 4254). This bill provides grants to CHCs to partner with high schools and community colleges to offer apprenticeship, career laddering and preceptorship programs for allied health roles such as medical assistant, dental hygienist, pharmacy technician, community health worker.
National Health Service Corps
Since the 1970s, the NHSC has helped CHCs recruit and retain primary care, behavioral health, nursing, and pharmacy staff in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) through scholarship and loan repayment programs. At least 80% of NHSC providers continue to work in underserved communities after completing their required service. NHSC is supported through both mandatory (multi-year) and discretionary (annual) federal funding. NHSC received $130 million in annual appropriations in Fiscal Year 2026, which is set to expire on September 30, 2026, and $350 million in mandatory funding, which is set to expire on December 31, 2026.
Teaching Health Centers
THCGME was established in 2010 to increase the number of primary care doctors and dentists trained in community-based settings, with 86% of graduates continuing to work in a medically underserved community. THCGME now supports over 50 CHCs with training family physicians, pediatricians, internists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, geriatricians and dentists in rural and medically underserved areas. Over fifteen years, THCGME has reduced primary care provider shortages by 2.1% nationally, while being estimated to have saved Medicare and Medicaid billions of dollars through providing more efficient and effective care. Despite these successes, THCGME receives less than 1% of total federal spending on GME, with its multi-year funding set to expire on September 30, 2029.
Health Professions and Nursing Workforce Development Programs
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funds several health professions and nursing workforce development programs authorized under Title VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act. CHCs leverage many of these programs, such as the Nurse Corps, Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship, Oral Health Training, Geriatrics, Primary Care Training and Enhancement, and Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training, to ensure they have a strong interdisciplinary workforce in place to care for all residents in their service areas. The funding for this program is renewed by Congress through the annual appropriations process, receiving strong support in FY26. However, the law authorizing these programs expired on September 30, 2025.
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)
Throughout the country, there are geographic areas, populations, and facilities with too few primary care, dental, and mental health providers and services. In conjunction with State Primary Care offices, the federal HRSA determines which of these should be designated as HPSAs and therefore be eligible to receive increased federal resources. CHC’s service areas are automatically designated as HPSAs.
Maps: Primary Care Shortage State Maps
Malpractice Liability Protection for Health Centers – FTCA
The Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1992 and 1995 granted medical malpractice liability protection through the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to HRSA-supported CHCs. CHCs can deem their staff as Public Health Service employees to have the federal government act as their primary liability insurer.
Important Links
BPHC’s FTCA website
BPHC FTCA Manual
BPHC Toolkit – list of tools to help CHCs get coverage
PAL Instructions to apply for coverage – HRSA has extended FTCA coverage to volunteers working at CHCs. The Program Assistance Letter (PAL) helps CHCs apply for FTCA coverage for their volunteers.
ECRI Institute Risk Management and Patient Safety Guidance – ECRI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving patient care. HRSA has worked with ECRI to create helpful risk management and patient safety resources.
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP Compliance & FTCA Support Services – provides services for CHCs available with subscription.
