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HEALTH PROFESSIONAL LOAN REPAYMENTSITE APPLICATION PROCESS

Technical Assistance Webinar

July 16, 20149:00 – 10:00 A.M.

Webinar Agenda

• Introduction of program staff• Acknowledge participants and identify

their site• Review Application Process• Answer questions from participants

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LOAN REPAYMENT SITE APPLICATION

Application period is July 1, 2014 through September 12, 2014

Go to:www.wsac.wa.gov/health-

professionals3

New Council Website

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Click on “Financial Aid Tab”then on “Health Professions”

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Click on “Site Information”

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Site Eligibility

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HPSA Designation

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Application ProcessTo register click here

Click her to find out if your site qualifies and to find your HPSA score

Create a User Log-in Account

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Click here to register

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Select Healthsite Application

Begin Application

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Please note this is a new requirement this year.

Be sure you read the Guidelines before continuing.

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Please note the requirements for separate applications.

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Contact should be designee of site authorized to submit application.

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• Select Facility Type• Select Facility Designation• Fill in Patient Profile Data

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Note: Maximum 35 days per year away from clinic. Includes Holidays, vacation, illness, continued education, etc.

Note: Don’t forget to include any new hires since July 1st – indicate them as a vacancy so they can apply as a recruitment during the provider cycle.

Use the actual work start date – not contract start date to determine recruitment or retention status.

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Sliding-fee discount schedule examples

If your site is not a Washington Dept. of Corrections or DSHS Facility, or a Tribal Clinic, you are required to have a Sliding Fee Schedule – Posted and Implemented.

Review Application carefullybefore you “SUBMIT”

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Once you click the “submit” button you will not be able to make changes.

The site application is to be completed by an authorized designee of the site. The provider cannot fill out the site application and a provider application – this will disqualify them during the provider application cycle.

HELPFUL HINTS

• BE SURE:• To know employees interest in program so they are included

in the site application requests• To calculate the recruitment vs retention correctly• To submit a separate application for each facility type

(example – behavioral health vs medical even if located at same physical address)

• To count new hires between July 1st and the time you submit the site application as a vacancy on the application

• You understand that providers cannot have a Sign-on or Moving Expenses Bonus that require a pay-back clause in their contract or agreements. This is a service obligation and will make them ineligible for the loan repayment program.

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Application Timelines• Site application closes at 5:00 p.m. on September

12, 2014.• You will receive email notification on the status of

your request by mid-November.• The approved site list will be posted on the

Washington Student Achievement Council Website in January 2015.• The Provider online application will open the first

week of January 2015.• The Provider Application Cycle will run from January

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Frequently Asked Questions• Q. What makes a site eligible?• A. The site must serve a high number of underserved urban or

rural populations. Site must be located in or have a HPSA designation with a score of 1 or higher. Site must have a sliding fee schedule. Site must be a not-for-profit.

• Q. How often does the site have to apply?• A. The site must apply annually.• Q. What if the site has multiple clinics?• A. An application must be submitted for each individual

physical site, and for each designated type: medical, dental, and/or behavioral health. A hospital and a hospital owned clinic must submit separate applications.

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Frequently Asked Questions• Q. What provider types are eligible?• A. Primary Care Physician (MD, DO, Physiatrist); Physician Assistant, Nurse

Practitioner, Registered Nurse, Dentist, Registered Dental Hygienist, Pharmacist, Registered Nurse, Certified Nurse Midwife.

• Q. What kind of sites are eligible?• A. Sites may be a:

• Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) • Rural Health Clinic • Indian Health Service, Tribal Clinic • State or Federal Correctional Facility • Community Mental Health Facility • Community Health Center • Critical Access Hospital • Free Clinic • Mobile Unit • State or County Department of Health Clinic

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. What is the role of the site once the provider has been awarded loan repayment?

• A. The site is responsible for verifying the provider’s hours of eligible service and signing the Quarterly Service Verification Form.

• Q. What are the chances of my provider getting a loan repayment award?

• A. With limited funding, the process if very competitive. There is no guarantee that your provider will get an award.

• Q. Can a site that already has a provider on loan repayment be eligible for another provider to receive an award?

• A. Yes, every year is a new source of funds. It doesn’t matter who or how many were awarded at your site in the past.

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Frequently Asked Questions• Q. How are awards determined?• A. Awards are based on score. When your site applies, it

receives a score based on data from your site, such as your geographical location (data from your zip code), the ratio of underserved patients, staffing criteria and other elements. When the provider applies, they receive a score based on elements from their application. These two scores are added together to create a total score. Awards are based on score.

• Q. What if a provider wants to leave the site before the end of their contract?

• A. It is the goal of the program to have all providers complete their contract at the site of their award. However, we do allow for transfers to another eligible site under certain circumstances.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Chris Wilkins360-753-7794

chrisw@wsac.wa.gov

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Comment One:• Providers that indicate on their application that they see less

than 1000 patients per year raises a red flag. The categories that are of concern are 500 or less or 500 – 1000. If the provider is only seeing 500 unduplicated patients per year, and they see 500 patients once, that equals only two patients per day. If they see all of their patients twice, that is four patients per day. If they see all of their patients three times a year, that is six patients a day. When we look at full time work, with 32 hours a week of scheduled patient hours, it is hard to do the calculation and see how that equals full time. For those providers who indicate they are seeing only 1000 patients per year, it works out to about 4 patients per day, if seen twice a year, 8 patients per day. So the same math calculations with the same concerns.

• It is important that the providers select the correct category of patients seen and that they are indeed seeing a full time equivalent of scheduled patient hours.

Comment Two:If a provider has a Sign-on or Moving Expense Bonus, or has any kind of pay-back clause in their Contract/Agreement, the site needs to have an amendment that makes the clause “Null and Void” should the provider be awarded loan repayment. Otherwise it makes the provider ineligible. The HRSA guidance states:

Must not have an outstanding contractual obligation for health professional service to the Federal Government, or to a State or other entity, unless that service obligation will be completely satisfied before the SLRP contract has been signed. Please note that certain provisions in employment contracts can create a service obligation (e.g., an employer offers a physician a recruitment bonus in return for the physician’s agreement to work at that facility for a certain period of time or pay back the bonus). 27