ORS 676.500: Behavioral health care provider incentives program; eligibility; use of funds; reporting requirement.

(1) As used in this section, “behavioral health care” means services and supports for individuals who have mental health disorders or substance use disorders. (2) The Oregon Health Authority shall establish a program to award grants to eligible entities. The grants awarded under this section must be used to foster the recruitment and retention of behavioral health care providers at the eligible entity. (3) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the following entities are eligible to receive grants under this section, if the entity meets the requirements described in subsection (4) of this section: (a) Urban Indian health programs operated by an urban Indian organization pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.; (b) Recipients of the authority’s tribal mental health program grants; (c) Qualified medical providers that offer office-based medication-assisted treatment services; and (d) Other entities that are not hospitals and that: (A) Have been certified by the authority to provide behavioral health care; (B) Provide behavioral health care through a program contracting with or administered by the Oregon Youth Authority; (C) Are licensed opioid treatment programs; or (D) Provide withdrawal management services. (4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, an entity described in subsection (3) of this section is eligible to receive a grant under this section if the entity: (a) Provides behavioral health care to adults or youth, of which at least 50 percent are uninsured or enrolled in the state medical assistance program or Medicare; (b) Operates an outpatient or residential facility; (c) Provides team-based care; and (d) Serves individuals with acute behavioral health needs, as defined by the Oregon Health Authority by rule. (5) The crisis hotline center described in ORS 430.627 is eligible to receive grants under this section. (6) An entity that receives a grant under subsection (2) of this section may use the funds to provide the following incentives to behavioral health care providers, in an effort to increase the recruitment and retention of behavioral health care providers at the entity: (a) Scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students going into the behavioral health care field; (b) Loan forgiveness and repayment incentives; (c) Tuition assistance; and (d) Stipends for students enrolled in graduate behavioral health care educational programs. (7)(a) An entity that receives a grant under subsection (2) of this section shall report to the Oregon Health Authority, in the form and manner prescribed by the authority, on how the entity spent the grant and how the expenditures impacted the recruitment and retention of behavioral health care providers at the entity. The report must include, as applicable to the entity, the following information: (A) The licensure, certification or position type of each behavioral health care provider who received an incentive listed in subsection (6) of this section; (B) The amount of grant moneys spent per behavioral health care provider; and (C) The entity’s staffing vacancy rate prior to receiving the grant under subsection (2) of this section and after receiving the grant under subsection (2) of this section. (b) In prescribing the form and manner of the report described in this subsection, the authority shall seek to minimize the administrative burden imposed on the entities to the extent practicable. [2025 c.561 §1]