Blue Cross and Blue Shield scholarship program helps provide doctors for rural areas Published 10:35 am Monday, September 29, 2025A total of 60 primary care physicians in Alabama are now practicing in rural areas as a result of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama’s Medical Scholarship Program. This scholarship program started in 2016 in an effort to improve access to quality, affordable healthcare for Alabamians, specifically in rural areas. “We are seeing the results that we were hoping for from our scholarship program,” said Tim Vines, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Almost half of all hospitals in Alabama are in rural areas with 51 total hospitals across the state. More than 40 percent of Alabama’s population resides in these rural areas.