A proposal floated by President Barack Obama to provide federal funds for community college students' tuition could produce an influx of new students seeking jobs in radiologic technology, nursing and health information technology, industry observers say. The funding could remove a major obstacle for those hoping to earn health-related degrees.
“The tuition right now is preventing many people from entering the profession, so this will alleviate some of the shortages that exist,” said Gerard Anderson, director of the Center for Hospital Finance and Management at Johns Hopkins University.
Workers with less than a bachelor's degree in the ten largest pre-baccalaureate healthcare occupations now total 3.8 million, representing nearly half of the total healthcare workforce, according to a Brookings Institution report. And the American Association of Community Colleges reported that 21% of community college students majored in health professions and related programs between 2001 and 2012.
Nursing homes and home health agencies will continue to see increasing numbers of aging patients, but they don't currently have the labor supply needed to care effectively for them, Anderson said, indicating that the industry could benefit from a larger pool of job candidates.
A spokesman for National Nurses United, a nurses' union, said the it has “had our differences with this president on certain issues, but believes the proposal would have a significant impact on nursing education and opportunity within the nursing field.”
Now that Americans have better access to primary care as a result of the Affordable Care Act, technologists will be in higher demand because preventative care requires more testing, said Joanne Spetz, an economics professor at the University of California at San Francisco's Institute for Health Policy Studies. But for community colleges to meet the demand for training in health tech careers, they will need financial help from local, state and federal governments to build new laboratories and pay more instructors, she said.
The president announced the “America's College Promise” program during a visit to Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., Friday, arguing that community college should be free “for those willing to work for it.” Calling community colleges a “passage to the middle class,” he called on Congress to approve the multi-billion-dollar program.
“I hope that Congress will come together to support it, because opening the doors of higher education shouldn't be a Democrat issue or a Republican issue, this is an American issue,” Obama said.
The federal government would cover three-quarters of average community college costs for eligible students, while participating states would be required to contribute the remaining funds. The program would need Congressional approval as a part of the 2016 federal budget. The White House estimates the plan would cost the federal government $60 billion over the next decade, which may mean it is unlikely to get much traction in the deficit-conscious Republican-controlled Congress.
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