Legislature makes moves to ease veterinarian shortage in Kentucky. Here's what we know

During this year's legislative session, which ended Monday, Kentucky lawmakers took some steps to support the agricultural industry amid its critical veterinary shortage.

In an effort to address the shrinking supply of veterinarians, two House bills and a Senate Joint Resolution were proposed and gained traction, with two of the three ultimately passing and one dying in committee.

The moves come following the publication of a multipart Courier Journal project on the veterinarian shortage plaguing the state.

There are more than 2 million head of cattle, hundreds of thousands of horses, and thousands of household pets that demand the attention of the state's 2,571 active, licensed veterinarians. But as of May 2022, only 1,160 of these veterinarians were employed and working in Kentucky, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The legislature also appropriated $60 million to the Murray State University budget for its veterinary technician program.

"With the appropriation that we were given and the recognition that our program got, and the future that we see coming up ... (we) think this is a good outcome," said Dr. Brian Parr, dean of the Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture.

Here's a look at what's coming from the legislature for the veterinarian industry across Kentucky:

HB 553: Rural Veterinary Medicine Student Loan Repayment Program

This bill addresses the crippling amount of student debt many vets will incur, along with the sheer lack of veterinarians in some parts of the state.

According to a 2024 study from the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners, about 10% of all new vet graduates will accumulate more than $300,000 in student loan debt.

"When you get in Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky, you got guys covering five, six county areas, especially in food animals... I cover 80 miles to the edge of Kentucky ... so many of us are like that, we're spread out pretty far," said Dr. John Laster, a vet and founder of Todd County Animal Clinic.

The bill, which became law without the governor's signature on April 10, will establish a Kentucky Rural Veterinary Medicine Student Loan Repayment Program.

The program will support vets who have: graduated during the past 10 years; have more than $75,000 in loan debt; are willing to practice for five years in rural Kentucky areas where there are currently no vets.

The program covers a maximum of $87,500 in loan repayments.

"The main thing this is going to do, is put veterinarians where the actual shortages are, where there are no veterinarians," Laster said.

The bill also aims to assure rural students who want to return to rural communities to practice have the ability to do that financially and don't feel pressure to accept a higher paying veterinary role in an urban area solely to cover their debt load, Laster said.

"Everybody's excited about this from what I can see," Laster said. "Working together as a veterinary community and allied ... and all the General Assembly, no matter what side of the aisle they're on, they've all tried to help us. They've heard us, they've listened, and they've pushed it through."

HB 400: Murray State veterinary school

Under House Bill 400, which had 51 co-sponsors, Murray State University would have been legally allowed to build a veterinary school and offer doctor's degrees required for professional practice and licensure in veterinary medicine.

HB 400 quickly passed through the House and was sent to the Senate, where it landed in the education committee and ultimately died.

Parr, the Murray State dean, is confident a new veterinary school will benefit not only the veterinary industry but also interested students in Kentucky. Parr previously said when combining the pre-veterinary and veterinary technology students, there are more than 400 students in those two majors, noting the campus is seeing a growing interest in these fields.

"I did not anticipate that it would fail to pass," Parr said Wednesday.

During a House committee meeting on the bill, the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association had representatives share opposition to the vet school, namely because of the specific educational model the university planned to use.

Parr said on Feb. 7 this vet school would create veterinarians who are ready and prepared for their first day of work through exposure to in-field practice by using a clinical/distributed model curriculum. The vet school would have a class size of up to 70 students and be focused on providing services and preparing students to work in rural Kentucky at large animal practices.

Senate Joint Resolution 170: Study to add university programs

This resolution, sponsored by state Sens. Julie Raque Adams, Robert Stivers and Damon Thayer, among others, offers an indirect lifeline and potential resurfacing next session of this year's failed HB 400.

The resolution directs the Council on Postsecondary Education to conduct a feasibility study on expanding postbaccalaureate programs at certain state universities — such as the creation of a doctorate of veterinary medicine program at Murray State University.

"This resolution gives us still a lot of hope that this is going to happen," Parr said. "I'm still very, very hopeful. I think this is a logical approach. I don't see it as an outright approach to kill this effort."

The council will need to report its findings on whether a vet school and other advanced degree programs should be offered at Murray State and other state universities by Dec. 1.

"Of course, House Bill 400 was only to make (creating a vet school) lawful, and so that's what will be next session. Depending on the outcome of what CPE recommends, perhaps it will become lawful and also become supported, because that's what's been asked here by the Senate leadership," Parr said.

For now, Parr and his team will wait several months to see what is determined.

"We're convinced that we're the right place for it, and that we should move forward with this to serve animal agriculture in our state," Parr said.

Why is there a veterinarian shortage?

Kentucky is in the grips of a veterinarian shortage that is critically impacting farmers and pet owners and could eventually harm our food supply. The commonwealth, known for its horses, also produces the most beef east of the Mississippi River and is largely dependent on veterinarians to protect the health, safety and integrity of animals intertwined within the state's $50 billion agriculture industry.

The shortage of veterinarians is a problem across the nation, but in Kentucky, with its 12 million acres of farmland and its reputation as the Horse Capital of the World, it is compounded by an aging population of veterinarians and a shortage of veterinary medicine students filling the gaps in rural communities.

Heavy student loan debt, increasingly long workdays, client pressures for faster and better care, and high burnout rates are key contributors to the shrinking supply of veterinarians in Kentucky and across the nation.

What are the impacts of the veterinarian shortage?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified roughly 500 counties across 47 states that are experiencing a veterinarian shortage. In Kentucky, 86 of the 120 counties are currently experiencing some sort of shortage, according to the USDA.

The veterinarian shortage can have myriad impacts in a state like Kentucky. A major concern with the vet shortage is the impacts to the food supply. Vets deal with food safety, making sure every animal that is raised and enters the food supply is healthy for human consumption.

"Veterinarians are literally involved from the reproductive processes, from the day the animals are born, to the nutrition, all the way up the food chain to food supply safety inside of slaughterhouses ... they're involved in every aspect of food safety," Laster, the Todd County vet, said.

Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky legislature passes two bills aimed at veterinary shortage