DeGette introduces legislation to make physical therapy services more accessible for patients in underserved communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) reintroduced legislation today to make physical therapy services more accessible for patients living in rural and underserved areas of the country.

The legislation – known as the “Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2023” – would make physical therapists eligible for a key federal program that offers to repay a portion of their student loans if they take a job at one of the National Health Service Corps sites that provide no-cost care to patients living in rural and underserved communities across the U.S.

The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program offers health care professionals up to $50,000 in repayment toward their student loans if they take a job at an NHSC-designated site. By expanding the program to include physical therapists among the list of health care professionals eligible for the program, DeGette’s legislation seeks to make the non-pharmacological treatment that physical therapists provide available to more patients around the country.

“The non-pharmaceutical treatment that physical therapists can provide to patients experiencing pain is critical to help curb the nation’s opioid epidemic,” DeGette said. “By expanding this program, we can encourage more physical therapists to take jobs in the communities that need them most, and provide patients living in those areas greater access to the care they need.”

Despite their ability to treat pain without the use of addiction-causing medications, physical therapists are not currently eligible for the NHSC loan repayment program that’s designed to encourage health care workers to take jobs in some of the rural and underserved communities that need their services the most.

By making physical therapists eligible for the NHSC loan program, DeGette’s legislation seeks to make the non-pharmacological care that physical therapists provide available to more patients in underserved communities across the U.S. and help alleviate some of the demand that’s straining other primary care providers in those areas.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for physical therapists is expected to rise across the country as baby boomers continue to age. Based on recent trends, the shortage of physical therapists in the U.S. is expected to reach over 26,000 by 2025, greater than any other primary care discipline currently eligible for the National Health Service Corps Student Loan Repayment Program.

The National Health Service Corps program was created in 1972 and is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Health care professionals who enter the program and work at an NHSC-approved site in a Health Professional Shortage Area for two years receive up to $50,000 toward their student loans.

A copy of DeGette’s legislation is available here.