ORS 676.454: Health care provider incentive program; rules.

(1) There is created in the Oregon Health Authority a health care provider incentive program for the purpose of assisting qualified health care providers who commit to serving medical assistance and Medicare enrollees in rural or medically underserved areas of this state. The authority shall prescribe by rule: (a) Participant eligibility criteria, including the types of qualified health care providers who may participate in the program; (b) The terms and conditions of participation in the program, including the duration of the term of any service agreement, which must be at least 12 months; (c) The types of incentives that may be provided, including but not limited to: (A) Loan repayment subsidies; (B) Stipends; (C) Medical malpractice insurance premium subsidies; (D) Scholarships for students in health professional training programs at the Oregon Health and Science University; (E) Scholarships for students at institutions of higher education based in this state who are enrolled in health professional training programs leading to a doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of dentistry or a license as a nurse practitioner, physician associate or certified registered nurse anesthetist, if: (i) The scholarship funds are distributed equitably among schools offering the training programs, based on the percentage of Oregon students attending those schools; and (ii) The maximum scholarship for each student does not exceed the highest resident tuition rate at the publicly funded health professional training programs in this state; and (F) Paying the moving expenses of providers not located in rural or medically underserved areas who commit to relocate to such areas; (d) If the funds allocated to the program from the Health Care Provider Incentive Fund established under ORS 676.450 are insufficient to provide assistance to all of the applicants who are eligible to participate in the program, the priority for the distribution of funds; and (e) The financial penalties imposed on an individual who fails to comply with terms and conditions of participation. (2) Eligibility requirements adopted for the program: (a) Must allow providers to qualify for multiple health care provider incentives, to the extent permitted by federal law. (b) Must allow providers to qualify for an incentive for multiyear periods. (c) Must give preference to applicants willing to: (A) Commit to extended periods of service in rural or medically underserved areas; or (B) Serve patients enrolled in Medicare and the state medical assistance program in at least the same proportion to the provider’s total number of patients as the Medicare and medical assistance patient populations represent in relation to the total number of persons determined by the Office of Rural Health to be in need of health care in the area served by the practice. (3) The authority may use funds allocated to the program from the Health Care Provider Incentive Fund to administer or provide funding to a locum tenens program for health care providers practicing in rural areas of this state. (4) The authority may enter into contracts with one or more public or private entities to administer the health care provider incentive program or parts of the program. (5) The authority shall decide no later than September 1 of each academic year the distribution of funds for scholarships that will be provided in the next academic year. (6) The authority may receive gifts, grants or contributions from any source, whether public or private, to carry out the provisions of this section. Moneys received under this subsection shall be deposited in the Health Care Provider Incentive Fund established under ORS 676.450. [Formerly 676.460; 2024 c.73 §119]