HELP Act Information and Resources
The HIV Epidemic Loan-Repayment Program (HELP) Act, introduced in 2020 by the late Rep. John Lewis, has been re-introduced by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) with co-sponsors Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA). The legislation will address the urgent need to support a strong and effective HIV clinical and dental workforce by authorizing a new loan-repayment program specific to the HIV clinical providers. The program would offer up to $250,000 in loan repayment to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists and clinical pharmacists for up to five years of service providing HIV-related care and treatment in areas with health professional shortages or at Ryan White-funded clinical sites.
Please take two minutes to ask your House representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2295, the HIV Epidemic Loan-Repayment Program (HELP) Act of 2021.
- IDSA and HIVMA Press Statement
- HELP Act Organizational Endorsement Letter
- Write a Letter
- Tweet Your Lawmaker
- Fact Sheet
The HELP Act would establish a loan repayment program offering up to $250,000 in loan repayment to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, and clinical pharmacists for up to five years of service providing HIV-related care and treatment in areas with health professional shortages or at Ryan White-funded clinical sites. To learn more about requirements, read the full bill text here.
- Find Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in your state
- Find Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Medical Providers in your state
- Ryan White HIV/AIDS State Profiles
- HIV/AIDS State Health Facts
- AIDSVu interactive online mapping tool
With a new commitment to dramatically increase engagement and re-engagement of people with HIV in care through the federal EHE initiative, the HELP Act is urgently needed to ensure there are clinicians to care for an influx of patients entering HIV care.
- Where Is the ID in COVID-19? Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)
- Urban-Rural Disparities in the US South (2020)
- The HIV Workforce in Crisis: An Urgent Need to Build the Foundation Required to End the Epidemic (2020)
- Results from the Survey of Infectious Disease Fellows Completing Training in 2016: The George Washington University Health Workforce Institute and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, (2017)
- Charting the Future of Infectious Disease: Anticipating and Addressing the Supply and Demand Mismatch (2017)
- Future Capacity of the HIV Care Provider Workforce (2016)
- HIV Clinician Workforce Study (2013)