66-29-151 - Health access incentive account Program for locating practitioners.
66-29-151. Health access incentive account Program for locating practitioners.
(a) There is hereby created within the state treasury a special account to be known as the health access incentive account. Money shall be deposited to the account pursuant to § 66-29-121 and as may be otherwise provided by law and shall be invested for the benefit of the account pursuant to § 9-4-603. Amounts in the account shall not revert to the general fund of the state but shall, together with interest income credited to the account, remain available for appropriation by the general assembly for the purpose set forth in subsection (b). Notwithstanding any language in this section to the contrary, an amount equal to the corpus which remained in the health access account on June 30, 1994, shall be transferred to the general fund. In the event the corpus funds available at the time of transfer are less than the aforementioned 1994 balance, then the total amount of the corpus and the health access incentive account balance, not to exceed $26,152,543.47 shall be transferred. Notwithstanding any language in this section to the contrary, the sum of one million six hundred thousand dollars ($1,600,000) which remained in the health access incentive account on June 30, 1996, shall be transferred to the general fund.
(b) The commissioner of health shall direct these funds, subject to the approval of the commissioner of finance and administration, to programs designed to enhance health access. The programs may include, but not be limited to, funding for services provided by federally qualified health centers, recruitment incentives, community initiatives, service-linked training opportunities, support for high technology/telecommunications efforts and other strategies to expand primary, obstetric and dental health care services in underserved areas. Pursuant to a finding of need by the commissioner, the health access program may also address the lack of adequate access in underserved areas to other health care providers and health care services such as emergency medicine, mental health care and prevention treatment services for low income, pregnant substance abusers.
(c) The commissioner of health is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the commissioner's responsibilities under this section.
[Acts 1989, ch. 424, § 1; 1995, ch. 445, §§ 1, 4; 1996, ch. 1079, § 146; 1997, ch. 353, §§ 1-3; 1997, ch. 536, § 1; 1998, ch. 1010, § 1; 2007, ch. 291, § 1.]