Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18, § 33
Repealed. 2019, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 7a, as amended by 2021, No. 74, § E.311.2, eff. July 1, 2027.
Redline — July 1, 2021 → current.View current text →
Current — June 1, 2022
As of July 1, 2021
(1) The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers Program at the University of Vermont College of Medicine (AHEC), shall establish a primary care physician scholarship program. The scholarships shall cover the medical school tuition for up to five third-year and up to five fourth-year medical students annually who commit to practicing primary care in a rural area of this State or in a Vermont federally qualified health center's service area, in a setting or practice not owned by an academic medical center. For each academic year of tuition covered by the scholarship, the recipient shall incur an obligation of two years of full-time service or four years of half-time service. Students receiving a scholarship for their third year of medical school shall be eligible to receive another scholarship for their fourth year of medical school. The amount of each scholarship shall be set at the in-state tuition rate less any other State or federal educational grant assistance the student receives for the same academic year.
(2) Approved specialties shall be all of the specialties recognized by the National Health Service Corps at the time of the scholarship award, which may include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, and psychiatry.
(1) The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers Program (AHEC) at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), shall establish a Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. The purpose of the Program is to strengthen the primary care workforce pipeline and increase the number of new physicians practicing in Vermont to meet the health care needs of Vermonters, with a focus on rural areas and undersupplied medical specialties.
(2) Scholarships shall be awarded to up to 10 students annually who commit to practicing in a medical specialty priority area, as set forth in subdivision (c)(2) of this section, in a region of Vermont other than Chittenden County, in a practice site that is not owned by an academic medical center and that accepts patients who are covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or other publicly funded health benefit programs. (b) (1) Scholarships shall be awarded to up to 10 students annually who commit to practicing in a medical specialty priority area, as set forth in subdivision (c)(2) of this section, in a region of Vermont other than Chittenden County, in a practice site that is not owned by an academic medical center and that accepts patients who are covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or other publicly funded health benefit programs.
(3) Students shall be eligible to participate in the Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program in their third and fourth year of medical school. A student who receives an incentive scholarship for the third year of medical school shall be eligible to receive another incentive scholarship for the fourth year of medical school.
(4) Each incentive scholarship award shall be for an amount not less than the in-state tuition rate for the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
(5) For each academic year of incentive scholarship received, the recipient shall incur a full-time service obligation of not less than one year in a medical specialty priority area and in a setting that meets the requirements of subdivision (b)(1) of this section. (c) (1) For each academic year of incentive scholarship received, the recipient shall incur a full-time service obligation of not less than one year in a medical specialty priority area and in a setting that meets the requirements of subdivision (b)(1) of this section.
(6) The medical specialty priority area shall be primary care; approved specialties include family medicine, internal medicine, adult primary care, pediatrics primary care, obstetrics-gynecology, and psychiatry.
(7) An incentive scholarship recipient who does not fulfill the service obligation commitment to practice in Vermont in accordance with the terms of the award shall be liable for repayment of the full amount of the scholarship, plus interest and penalty.
(8) The Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program shall be administered in compliance with federal financial aid regulations and the Internal Revenue Code. (d) (1) The Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program shall be administered in compliance with federal financial aid regulations and the Internal Revenue Code.
(9) Payments shall be made directly to the recipient’s University of Vermont student financial services account.
(10) The full terms and conditions of the award shall be described in the award contract or promissory note and shall be binding once the contract or note is fully executed.
(11) AHEC and VSAC shall enter into a memorandum of understanding establishing their respective responsibilities for administering the Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program. The memorandum of understanding shall be subject to the approval of the Department of Health.
(12) The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with AHEC and VSAC, may establish additional recipient eligibility criteria, selection criteria, award terms and conditions, and evidence-based best practices to meet the purposes of the Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program on an annual basis to best respond to Vermont’s needs for physician workforce and access to health care. (e) (1) The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with AHEC and VSAC, may establish additional recipient eligibility criteria, selection criteria, award terms and conditions, and evidence-based best practices to meet the purposes of the Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program on an annual basis to best respond to Vermont’s needs for physician workforce and access to health care.
(13) The Commissioner of Health may adopt rules in accordance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 in order to plan, implement, maintain, and evaluate the Medical Student Incentive Scholarship Program established in this section.
Official source: Vermont General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Vermont statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.