Prince George's leaders and health systems outline plans to close major primary-care gap

Prince George’s County Council members sitting as the Board of Health heard presentations and recommendations on a wide primary-care shortage during a meeting that brought hospital systems, the Howard University faculty practice plan and federally qualified health centers to the same table.

The Board of Health session focused on three drivers of access identified by University of Maryland researchers — insurance coverage, proximity to clinics and the availability of clinicians — and on concrete proposals from local providers to expand primary-care capacity in the county.

“About 1 in every 8 of the non-elderly county residents is uninsured,” University of Maryland assistant professor Nate Apathy told the board, summarizing analysis of 2023 American Community Survey estimates. He said the uninsured and subsidized populations are concentrated in Districts 2 and 3, and that drive-time maps show most residents are within a 15–20 minute drive of primary care or a hospital except in portions of south‑eastern District 9.

The presentations and discussion focused on three types of responses: investments and partnerships by hospital systems, recruitment and retention through residency pipelines, and…