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Jump to All Downloads & LinksKey Takeaways
- Federal funding is indispensable for California’s health workforce. In 2022, more than $2.1 billion in federal dollars supported training, recruitment, and retention, with Medicare graduate medical education payments representing the largest share
- Funds span multiple professions and programs. While federal dollars largely target medical professions, such as physicians and physician assistants, additional resources support nursing, allied health, behavioral health, public health, and oral health.
- Cuts pose serious risks. Proposed federal budget reductions threaten California’s ability to sustain its health workforce, potentially exacerbating provider shortages and limiting access to care statewide.
Federal funding is a cornerstone of California’s health workforce development efforts. In 2022 alone, the state received an estimated $2.1 billion in federal support to train, recruit, and retain health professionals.
Millions of Californians reside in areas with a shortage of health care professionals. Understanding how federal dollars flow into California’s health workforce is essential for shaping effective solutions to the state’s health workforce challenges.
This explainer provides clear data on the role federal funding plays in strengthening California’s health workforce. For a deeper analysis of federal workforce funding streams, a technical appendix accompanies this explainer with detailed data tables and methodology.
What You’ll Learn
This resource demystifies the complex landscape of federal health workforce funding by examining:
- Funding sources. Which federal agencies provide support and the scale of their contributions.
- Program types. How funding supports graduate medical education, student training, scholarships, and loan repayment programs.
- Health professions. The breadth of investments across medicine, nursing, allied health, behavioral health, and more.
Part of CHCF’s Health Workforce Series
This explainer is the third in CHCF’s comprehensive examination of California’s health workforce landscape. It builds on our foundational resource, How California Is Strengthening Its Health Workforce: Five Key Questions and Answers, which details the state’s $4.3 billion investment in workforce development over five years, and The Role of State and Federal Funding for Graduate Medical Education in California (PDF), an in-depth look at graduate medical education financing
Together, these resources highlight how state and federal investments align to address California’s health workforce challenges.
Authors & Contributors
Kristin Schumacher, PhD, MSW
Principal Owner, Aster Policy Analytics
