Sen. Kaine Introduces Bill To Get Students Of Color In 'Physician Pipeline'

VIRGINIA — With physician shortages across Virginia and the country, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced legislation Friday that would address the lack of representation of rural students, underserved students, and students of color in medical schools.

Kaine’s Expanding Medical Education Act would provide grants to colleges and universities to establish or expand medical schools in underserved areas or at minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“Even before the pandemic, underserved, rural, and minority communities faced too many barriers in accessing health care,” Kaine said in a statement Friday. “This has only been exacerbated by nationwide physician shortages.”

One way to address the shortage is “by diversifying and expanding our physician pipeline, as medical students of color and those from rural areas are more likely to practice in the communities they’re from,” he said.

“I’m proud to re-introduce this important legislation to help us get one step closer to ensuring communities across Virginia and the nation have access to the medical professionals they need,” said Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

The legislation would encourage the recruitment, enrollment and retention of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at the medical schools. Virginia is home to five Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Hampton University in Hampton, Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia Union University in Richmond, and Virginia University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg.

Kaine is pushing to include this legislation in the Build Back Better bill, legislation that is unlikely to pass before Christmas due to opposition from Kaine’s fellow Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

"Virginia Union University is committed to developing academic programs to train future physicians and health professionals who identify with the ailments that affect communities of color. This legislation would provide the financial resources to increase our programs and opportunities for better healthcare in our community," Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, president of Virginia Union University, said in a statement Friday.

The Expanding Medical Education Act is cosponsored by Sens. Alex Padilla and Diane Feinstein, Democrats from California.

The bill would authorize funding to provide grants through the Health Resources and Services Administration to colleges and universities to establish or expand medical schools in an area in which no other such school is based and is a medically underserved community or health professional shortage area or at minority-serving institutions, including HBCUs.

These grants would be used for planning and construction of a new medical school or branch campus in an area where no other school is based; activities to meet the accreditation criteria for a medical school; and recruitment, enrollment, and retention of students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Norfolk State University’s medical and health programs have a long history of contributing to the advancement of health care in communities of color, in Hampton Roads, across Virginia, and the nation, according to Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, president of the university.

"Norfolk State University supports this legislation and thanks Senator Kaine for his ongoing commitment to equity in education and healthcare,” Adams-Gaston said.