News

November 16, 2023By Physicians for a Healthy California CalHealthCares

In collaboration with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) is excited to announce that the CalHealthCares Loan Repayment Program awarded $73.4 million to support 266 physicians and 36 dentists working to expand access to care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries throughout the state.

This cohort, the program’s fifth, is intended to be the final cohort from the initial $340 million allocated to CalHealthCares through Proposition 56 (2016). These funds have provided awardees with much-needed relief from the burden of student loan debt, while incentivizing them to support underserved communities and improve access to care.

Criteria considered during the selection process included the local impact of awardees’ service, access to specialty care, how awardees’ non-English language skills improve access, as well as the willingness of dentist awardees to treat children ages 0 to 3 and special needs patients. Consideration was also given to awardees’ long-term commitment to underserved communities and their ability to provide culturally and linguistically competent care.

In addition to welcoming Cohort 5 awardees to the CalHealthCares program, PHC continues partnering with DHCS to work with future funding made available by SB 395 (Caballero), the vaping tax measure passed in 2021.

This funding source will allow CalHealthCares to continue providing loan repayment assistance to eligible physicians and dentists through future awardee cohorts for years to come. Upon confirmation of funding, CalHealthCares will announce dates for the next application cycle.