National Association of County and City Health Officials Applauds the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Act

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- The National Association of County and City Health Officials issued the following statement:

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), on behalf of the nation's nearly 3,000 local health departments, released the following statement regarding the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Act (H.R. 6578.)

"Health department staff are on the front lines of the coronavirus response, with no end in sight. And they are doing so despite workforce cuts and tight budgets that make it difficult to recruit and retain the key talent needed to keep our communities healthy and safe. A federal Public Health Loan Repayment program is an important investment in strengthening the health department workforce across the country," said Lori Tremmel Freeman, NACCHO's Chief Executive Officer.

"We thank Representatives Crow and Burgess for taking this important first step to set up a system to help recruit and retain talented professionals to these critical jobs to support the coronavirus response and to strengthen health department capacity in the years to come."

"The public health workforce is the backbone of our nation's governmental public health system at the county, city, and state levels. Unfortunately, since 2008, local and state health departments have lost almost a quarter of their workforce, while still facing challenging barriers to recruiting key positions and retaining experienced staff.

"That's why a coalition of more than 60 organizations has joined together to support the creation of a public health loan repayment program to help address some of these workforce pressures by incentivizing recent graduates to bring their talents to health departments across the country. NACCHO stands ready to work with Congress and the Administration to advance this important program and invest in the public health workforce more broadly."

The Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Act would:

* Establish a loan repayment program for public health professionals who agree to serve three years in a local, state, or tribal health department.

* Make individuals accepted into the program eligible for up to $35,000 annually for loan repayment each year of the program.

* Authorize $100 million in the first year and $75 million in subsequent years to support the program.

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About NACCHO The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation's nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.