Establishes the medical primary care scholarship program to be administered by the commissioner of postsecondary education.
H5984 establishes a new Medical Primary Care Scholarship Program in Rhode Island to help address shortages in primary care providers. The bill finds that the state is facing a crisis in primary care due to retirements, an aging population, provider burnout, lower compensation, student debt, and difficulty recruiting staff. It creates a scholarship program for medical students, nurse practitioner students, and physician assistant students who show academic excellence and a commitment to practicing primary care in Rhode Island.
The program would be administered by the director of the Department of Health in consultation with the commissioner of postsecondary education, and it would be aligned with existing primary care and rural health efforts. Eligible recipients could receive up to five new awards each year in each category, with maximum annual awards of $70,000 for medical students and $47,000 for nurse practitioner or physician assistant students. In exchange, recipients must sign a contract and promissory note agreeing to work in Rhode Island primary care after graduation and licensing; the scholarship is forgiven over time as service obligations are met, and funds must be repaid if the recipient fails to complete the program or service commitment.
The bill also appropriates $1 million for fiscal year 2025-2026, including a $500,000 transfer from the Wavemaker Program and $500,000 from general treasury funds, with annual appropriations thereafter as needed. The money would be deposited into a restricted receipt account, and some funding may be used to support one full-time administrator. The bill includes audit and annual reporting requirements to the General Assembly and governor, and it takes effect July 1, 2025.
Overall, the bill appears aimed at strengthening Rhode Island’s primary care workforce by using scholarship incentives tied to service obligations. The available context shows no recorded committee testimony or votes, so there is no documented public debate in the provided materials. Based on the bill text itself, likely points of interest or contention would include the use of state funds, the transfer from the Wavemaker Program, the size of the awards, and the enforceability of the repayment and service requirements.
This bill would add a new chapter to Title 23 of the Rhode Island General Laws creating the Medical Primary Care Scholarship Program. It would authorize the Department of Health, working with the commissioner of postsecondary education, to award scholarships to qualifying medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students in exchange for a post-graduation service commitment in Rhode Island primary care. It also creates repayment, audit, reporting, and enforcement provisions, and it appropriates and redirects state funds to support the program.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure suggest generally supportive sentiment toward expanding the primary care workforce and addressing provider shortages. The findings section frames the issue as an urgent public health and workforce problem, and the bill uses scholarships and service commitments as a policy solution. No committee transcripts or vote history were provided, so there is no recorded opposition or support to summarize beyond the bill’s own pro-healthcare, workforce-expansion framing.
No formal debate or vote record is included, so specific contention is not documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of concern implied by the bill include the fiscal impact of a $1 million annual appropriation, the $500,000 transfer from the Wavemaker Program, whether the scholarship amounts and service obligations are sufficient to retain providers, and how strictly repayment and enforcement provisions would be applied. Stakeholders most likely to focus on these issues would be budget writers, higher education officials, health workforce advocates, and prospective scholarship recipients.