Government Relations
UW System Position on Bills Introduced in the Legislature During the 2007-2008 Session
Pending Legislation
Full Description
(Mursau/Erpenbach) Creates a $255,000/yr. loan program to be administered by HEAB for tuition, fees and expenses for resident pharmacy students who are enrolled in a program at the UW Madison School of Pharmacy. These students must agree to practice pharmacy for not less than six years in a pharmacy professional shortage area in this state, designated by the federal DH&HS. The maximum amount of a loan that a person may receive during any fiscal year is $5,000 and the maximum amount is $25,000.
Referred to: Assembly Committee on Public Health on 7-03-07
Public Hearing held on 8-15-07
UW System Position
SUPPORT: Loan forgiveness programs provide incentives for pharmacists to practice in federally designated shortage areas. Both the pharmacist whose debt is being reduced and Wisconsin citizens who are afforded greater access to quality health care benefit from these programs
Pharmacy students have been incurring increasingly large debts upon graduation from school. Rather than practice in rural areas, many pharmacy graduates feel compelled to accept positions in urban areas that typically pay higher salaries.
Recently, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported that pharmacist recruitment is the number one concern expressed by hospitals with rural hospitals reporting the most difficulty.
This legislation would help address that concern by providing an incentive for Wisconsin pharmacists to practice in areas of the state deemed as pharmacy professional shortage areas.