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2000 Session

Budget Amendments - SB30 (Conference Report)

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Medical Scholarship & Loan Repayment

Item 300 #1c

Item 300 #1c

First Year - FY2001 Second Year - FY2002
Health And Human Resources
Health, Department of FY2001 $500,000 FY2002 $500,000 GF

Language
Page 232, line 7, strike "$2,344,059" and insert "$2,844,059".
Page 232, line 7, strike "$2,344,059" and insert "$2,844,059".
Page 232, line 15, strike "465,000" and insert "1,015,000".
Page 232, line 16, strike "465,000" and insert "
1,015,000
".
Page 232, line 17, strike "67 medical scholarships the first year" and insert:
"financial incentives such as medical scholarships, loan repayment, one-time salary bonuses, travel expenses, and salary supplements to physicians, including psychiatrists, or medical".
Page 232, strike line 18.
Page 232, line 21, strike "Four"  and insert:
"Of the $
1,015,000
each year, four".
Page 232, line 35, strike "Physician Loan Repayment Program" and insert:
"pool of funding for financial incentives to recruit physicians, including psychiatrists, or medical students described above.  The Department of Health, in cooperation with representatives from the three state medical schools, the Southwest Virginia Graduate Medical Education Consortium, the Quillen School of Medicine at East Tennessee State University, and the Pikeville School of Osteopathic Medicine, shall develop the procedures and regulations to distribute the financial aid funds as appropriate to recruit physicians, including psychiatrists, and medical students to medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth.  All financial aid shall be awarded in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board of Health.  The Department shall maintain an accounting of the number and amount of the scholarship and loan repayment awards made each year, and the specialties of the physicians receiving the award.  The Board of Health shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this Item within 280 days of enactment."
Page 232, strike lines 36 through 41.
Page 233, strike lines 44 through 52.
Page 233, line 53, strike "F" and insert "E".


Explanation
(This amendment combines the existing funds appropriated for medical scholarships ($465,000 from the general fund each year), the funds appropriated for physician loan repayment ($50,000 from the general fund each year), and the psychiatrist recruitment and retention program in the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services ($500,000 from the general fund each year) into one appropriation for both physician scholarships and loan repayment. Funds may be used to implement other financial incentives to recruit physicians, including psychiatrists, and medical students to medically underserved areas. These incentives could include one-time salary bonuses, travel expenses for students/physicians to visit a prospective underserved area, and salary supplements to provide greater flexibility in attracting physicians by meeting their individual needs. This amendment would retain the medical scholarships at neighboring state medical schools in Kentucky and Tennessee that attract Virginia residents who attend these medical schools and return to practice in Southwest Virginia. A study by the Joint Commission on Health Care found that a number of the medical scholarships are not being awarded for various reasons.)