Obama Administration Unveils $1B Plan to Expand Health Care Workforce
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In this photo taken Thursday, June 3, 2010, Dr. Steven Birnbaum works a CT scanner with a patient at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) (AP)
The Obama administration is tapping the health care overhaul law to advance its economic agenda, a political priority for the White House.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday that her department will provide up to $1 billion over three years to create jobs in local programs that improve health care through innovation.
The effort is called the Health Care Innovation Challenge. Grants of $1 million to $30 million will be awarded next spring to organizations such as hospitals, nonprofits, and local government agencies.
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While the money comes from the health care law, the program is part of the president's "We Can't Wait" initiative, a political effort by the White House to show the administration is acting to create jobs and boost the economy while Congress is gridlocked.