2016 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 63. Public Health and Safety
§63-1-2721. Physician requirements.

A. 1. The Physician Manpower Training Commission shall administer the Oklahoma Medical Loan Repayment Program.

2. For the purposes of this section, “primary care physicians” shall mean physicians practicing in family medicine, geriatrics, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, or emergency medicine.

3. The Program, depending upon and limited to available funding, shall provide educational loan repayment assistance to Oklahoma licensed primary care physicians who agree to establish a practice in a community located in Oklahoma approved by the Commission.

4. Each award shall be for a contracted period and shall be distributed to the participant by drafts made payable to the participant at the end of each contract year with disbursements not to exceed an amount to be established annually by the Commission. Prior to any disbursement, the Commission shall certify and properly review reports submitted by the participating physician detailing performance of activities in accordance with the Program.

5. At the conclusion of an initial two-year period, the Commission shall review the performance in the Program of the participating physician and determine whether an award may be granted for additional years pursuant to rules promulgated by the Commission.

B. The physicians entering the Program each year shall agree to provide medical care and services in areas designated by the Commission to provide medical care and services to Medicaid recipients as authorized by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

C. A physician shall be eligible to participate in the loan repayment program if the physician:

1. Is licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma;

2. Is a new primary care residency graduate. Preference will be given to graduates of the primary care residency programs affiliated with the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and the teaching hospitals affiliated with both schools of medicine; or

3. Is a current practicing physician and has met criteria established by the Commission.

D. The physician shall agree to practice in the designated need areas identified by the Commission for no fewer than two (2) consecutive years as a condition of the loan repayment. If the physician does not fulfill the service obligation, the Commission may collect from the participant the entire amount of loan payments made under the Program plus interest.

E. The Commission shall present a report on the operation of the Program to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate within one (1) month of the beginning of each regular session of the Legislature, including but not limited to the progress made in accomplishing the goal of the Program.

Added by Laws 2010, c. 292, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2010. Amended by Laws 2011, c. 33, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2011.