Health provider recruiting programs.

ORIGINAL
House
Bill No.
HB0088

ENROLLED ACT NO. 60,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; increasing authorized payments under the allied health care provider loan repayment program; amending the physician recruitment grant program to also allow recruitment of other health care providers; amending grant requirements as specified; providing a definition; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
119(a)(ii), 35
‑
1
‑
1101(a) through (
c), (d)(ii),
(e)
(
i
) through (iv),
(vi)
, (vii), (viii)(A),
(f)
(iv) and
by creating a new paragraph (vi) are amended to read:

9
‑
2
‑
119
.

Allied health care provider loan repayment program.

(a)

The department is authorized to enter into agreements with health care providers licensed or certified to provide health care services in this state including, but not limited to, hospital, medical, surgical, dental, vision, nursing, radiology, mental health, speech language pathology and pharmaceutical services. The agreements shall:

(ii)

Provide that the health care provider shall be repaid up to one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of outstanding educational loans the provider has acquired as a direct result of undergraduate or postgraduate educational training directly related to providing medical services, not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00)
twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00)

per year, in exchange for practicing under the terms of this section;

ARTICLE 11
PROVIDER RECRUITMENT GRANT PROGRAM

35
‑
1
‑
1101
.

Provider
recruitment grant program.

(a)

There is created the Wyoming
physician

provider
recruitment program administered by the department.

(b)

There is created the Wyoming
physician
provider

recruitment account. Funds in the account are continuously appropriated to the department to provide grants for
physician
provider

recruitment. Up to ten percent (10%) of the funds may be used to advertise the
physician
provider

recruitment program.

(c)

In July of each year,
T
he
department shall solicit
physician
provider

recruitment applications from hospitals, physicians and others seeking to recruit
physicians
providers
. The applications shall be prioritized by need based on geographic area, then by medical need within the geographic area.
A
P
riority shall be given to recruitment
to

of
private
physician
practice

providers
.
In September of each year,
T
he
department shall issue award letters to the persons or entities receiving grant authorizations

within sixty (60) days after the close of an application period
. The grant authorizations shall authorize the person or entity receiving it, for a period of one (1) year, to make a firm offer of recruitment incorporating the benefits authorized by this section
and W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
118
to a candidate, conditioned upon Wyoming licensure and the candidate's signed written agreement to the conditions of this section
.

and
W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
118.

(d)

The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to administer the program, including provisions for:

(ii)

Termination of grants and full or partial repayment if a
physician
provider
fails to comply with the conditions of this section, rules and regulations of the department adopted pursuant to this section or the terms of the written incentive agreement;

(e)

Grants provided under this section shall be subject to the following:

(
i
)

The
physician
provider

shall be recruited to a stipulated geographic area;

(ii)

A
practitioner
provider

shall relocate his practice to the state of Wyoming from outside of the state to be eligible for a grant.
Practitioners

Providers
relocating to the state of Wyoming to become employed by the state or by the United States shall not be eligible for grants.
The requirement to relocate pursuant to t
his paragraph shall not apply to
physicians
taking
providers recruited from

a family practice residency in the state or
physicians
recruitment of providers

employed by the United States department of defense;

(iii)

The recruitment conditions between
the
a

hospital and
the

a
physician shall meet the conditions set forth in 42 C.F.R. 411.357(e), as amended
;
September 5, 2007;

(iv)

Recruitment of new
physicians

providers
shall be based on demonstrable need. Those recruiting persons or entities demonstrating the greatest need, in the discretion of the department shall be given the highest priority in receiving grants pursuant to this section;

(vi)

The recruited
physician
provider

shall agree to provide medical services in the community to which
he was recruited for a period of not less than two (2) years or
he

the recruiting entity
shall repay any monies granted under
subparagraphs (e
)(
viii)(B) through (D) of
this section to the state of Wyoming plus interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum;

(vii)

The recruited
physician
provider

shall agree to provide medical care for not less than two (2) years in underserved areas of the state and shall accept patients qualified under the Medical Assistance and Services Act, Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act and the child health insurance program who seek medical care which the health care provider is qualified to provide or
he

the recruiting entity
shall repay any monies granted under this section to the state of Wyoming plus interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum;

(viii)

Costs reimbursed through grants under the program
shall be documented by the provider as required by the department and

may include:

(A)

As incentive to the
physician
provider

recruitment process, recruitment actual costs, up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) per recruited
physician
provider
, may be
reimbursed

awarded
to the successful recruiting person or entity paying those costs
;

(f)

As used in this section:

(iv)

"Program" means the Wyoming
physician
provider
recruitment grant program;

(vi)

"Provider" means an

individual licensed or eligible to be licensed
in a health

care profession
under
title 33
of the Wyoming statutes
.

Section 2
.

W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
1101(
e)(ix) and (x) is repealed.

Sectio
n 3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
2015
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

1