BILL NUMBER: S6882              Revised 10/13/2023

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to professional obli-
gations under the physician loan repayment program

 
PURPOSE:

To expand the incentives provided in the DANY Physician Loan Repayment
and Physician Practice Support programs to physicians entering private
practice in underserved areas.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends section 2807-m of the public health law. An applicant
must agree to either: (i) practice for three years in an underserved
area and receive up to forty thousand dollars for each of the three
years, or (ii) practice as a physician engaged in private practice in an
underserved area and receive up to sixty thousand dollars for each of
the three years.
              

Section 2: Sets effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Doctors Across New York (DANY) Physician Loan Repayment and Physi-
cian Practice Support programs provide funds to recruit and retain
physicians in medically underserved areas. The program offers applicants
student loan debt repayment in exchange for the commitment to working in
an underserved area for three years. This current funding cycle provides
up to $40,000 per year for three years for physicians who agree to prac-
tice in underserved areas.

To reap the benefits of the DANY program as it is currently outlined in
state law, an applicant must be a primary care physician or a specialist
and must have an employment contract with a healthcare facility-defined
as a general hospital, diagnostic and treatment center (D&TC), or a
nursing home licensed by the NYSDOH, a facility certified, but not oper-
ated, by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). As such, the
DANY program incentivizes primary care physicians to practice in hospi-
tals. While these hospitals serve an important role in treating patients
in underserved communities, there are also advantages for patients who
see physicians in private practice.

It is important for New York State to provide incentives for primary
care physicians who choose to work in private practice. This bill will
expand the DANY program by creating an incentive of receiving up to
$60,000 for each of the three years for physicians to engage in private
practice in underserved areas. Since physicians in private practice
receive significantly lower salaries compared to those who work in
hospitals, it is necessary to administer them $60,000 per year to
compete with the $40,000 figure for physicians who work in hospitals.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirty-first of March next succeeding
the date upon which it shall have become a law.