Obama Administration Says Recruiting, Training and Retaining Primary Care Physicians a 'Top Priority'

With a likely eye on the coming 2012 presidential election, the White House issued a news release on Wednesday touting the advancements the Administration has made in the area of primary care since President Obama took office.

"Together, the Affordable Care Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and ongoing federal investments in the healthcare workforce have led to significant progress in training new primary care providers," writes the White House.

In the announcement, the Administration lists the following as ways it has stimulated primary care:

1. Tripling the number of healthcare providers in the National Health Service Corps.
2. Setting aside $230 million in the PPACA to increase the number of medical residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained in primary care.
3. Establishing the Teaching Health Center Program, a part of the PPACA that aims to move primary care training into community-based settings.
4. 4. Providing $10 million in 2012 to support mental health training.
5. 5. Redistributing unused residency positions to open up spots for the training of primary care physicians.
6. Providing $50 million each year for the next four years, through the PPACA, to train advanced practice nurses.

The White House also points to its encouragement of medical homes in the PPACA as a way to modernize physician training. Finally, it points to new Medicare accountable care organizations as a way "realign financial incentives" by rewarding for high-quality care and patient outcome instead of fee-for-service models, and highlights the CMS Innovation Center as a way to promote primary care.

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