End of year legislation creates new allied health workforce diversity program
The Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act (H.R. 3320/S. 1679) was included in the large year-end 2023 omnibus bill which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 29, 2022. The new Allied Health Workforce Diversity program is a huge win for the profession. It will support efforts to ensure our nation has a health workforce that is representative of its population and continue to expand access to health care for everyone.
Under this new program, the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) will award grant funding to accredited higher education programs of occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, physical therapy, speech language pathology, and audiology to support their efforts to increase opportunities for students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds. Modeled after a similar grant program for nurses, funding would support efforts by the program to attract, recruit, and retain individuals underrepresented in these professions.
A study published in JAMA in March 2021 stated, “fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to increasing access to care and improving aspects of health care quality.” The same study shows the higher education pipeline for the allied health professions are less diverse than the current workforce.
This study also highlighted two important findings that reinforce the need for the Allied Health Workforce Diversity program:
- Health professionals from underrepresented and minority backgrounds are more likely to practice in medically underserved areas.
- Patients who receive care from health care professionals of their own cultural background tend to have better outcomes.
First introduced in 2019, the Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act was included in a larger bill that passed the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote. However, the Senate never considered this legislation due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act was reintroduced and saw significant movement. Dr. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, member of the AOTA board of directors, testified in favor of the bill in front of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Additionally, the Senate included language to create the same grant program in a large bipartisan bill designed to help address future pandemics. The strong showing it received in both the House and Senate led to its inclusion in the 2023 Omnibus bill.
Next Steps
While the legislation creating the Allied Health Workforce Diversity program was signed into law, it will take some time before it is fully implemented by the Health and Resources Services Administration (HRSA). AOTA will engage with HRSA to ensure the program functions as intended, as well as with Congress to ensure it is adequately funded. We will share more information as it becomes available.
This article, originally published on December 22, 2022, has been updated to reflect recent events.