Senate Bill 2867

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-144-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD A BOARD-CERTIFIED CHILD PSYCHIATRIST AS A MEMBER OF THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL PHYSICIANS SCHOLARSHIP COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-144-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE THE MISSISSIPPI PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION AMONG THE ORGANIZATIONS FROM WHICH THE COMMISSION SHALL SEEK INPUT REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL PHYSICIANS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 37-144-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE CHILD PSYCHIATRY STUDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL PHYSICIANS SCHOLARSHIP RESIDENCY PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-144-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-144-3. (1) The Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program shall be administered by a commission to be known as the "Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Commission." The commission shall be directed by a board composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) generalist physicians appointed by and from the membership of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term;

(b) One (1) generalist physician appointed by and from the membership of each of the following organizations, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term:

(i) Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians;

(ii) Mississippi Chapter, American College of Physicians;

(iii) Mississippi Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics;

(iv) Mississippi Chapter, American College of OB-GYN;

(v) * * * Mississippi Psychiatric Association;

( * * *vvi) Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association;

( * * *vivii) Mississippi Osteopathic Association;

(c) Two (2) designees of the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine whose terms are at the discretion of the dean, at least one (1) of whom is a member of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine Admissions Committee;

(d) Two (2) medical students, one (1) of whom shall be selected yearly through a process developed by the Dean of the School of Medicine in consultation with the Chairs of the Departments of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, OB-GYN and Pediatrics, and one (1) of whom shall be nominated for a one-year term by the Mississippi Chapter of the Student National Medical Association and approved by the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine;

(e) A member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning;

(f) The Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine; and

(g) A licensed psychiatrist appointed by the Mississippi Chapter of the American Psychiatric Association.

(2) The premedical advisors from the accredited four-year colleges and universities in the state and the directors or designees of the primary care generalist training programs in the State of Mississippi shall comprise an advisory committee to the commission to assist the commission in its administration of the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program.

(3) Vacancies on the commission must be filled in a manner consistent with the original appointments.

(4) All appointments to the commission must be made no later than September 1, * * * ~~2019~~ 2024. After the members are appointed, the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine shall set a date for the organizational meeting that is mutually acceptable to the majority of the commission members. The organizational meeting shall be for the purposes of organizing the commission and establishing rules for transacting its business. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum at all commission meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting shall be required in the adoption of rules, reports and in any other actions taken by the commission. At the organizational meeting, the commission shall elect a chair and vice chair from the members appointed according to paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection (1). The chair shall serve for a term of two (2) years, upon the expiration of which the vice chair shall assume the office of chair.

(5) After the organizational meeting, the commission shall hold no less than two (2) meetings annually.

(6) The commission may form an executive committee for the purpose of transacting business that must be conducted before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission. All actions taken by the executive committee must be ratified by the commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

(7) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed, subject to the availability of funding, for mileage and actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the commission.

(8) Funding for the establishment and continued operation of the program and commission shall be appropriated out of any money in the General Fund not already appropriated to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

SECTION 2. Section 37-144-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-144-5. The Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Developing the administrative policy for the commission and the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program;

(b) Promulgating rules and regulations, with the advice and consent of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, pertaining to the implementation and operation of the Rural Physicians Scholarship Program;

(c) Developing and implementing strategies and activities for the identification and recruitment of students and for marketing the program and for the implementation of the program. In developing these strategies, the board shall seek the input of various organizations and entities, including the Mississippi State Medical Association, the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, the Mississippi Chapters of the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of OB-GYN, Mississippi Psychiatric Association, the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association, the Mississippi Osteopathic Medicine Association and the American Psychiatric Association;

(d) Establishing a budget, with the advice and consent of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, to support the activities of the program and periodically reviewing and if appropriate, revising, the scholarship and other stipends offered through the program;

(e) Advising the University of Mississippi Medical Center regarding hiring an executive director and support staff necessary for the commission's work. The commission shall nominate at least two (2) individuals to serve as executive director;

(f) Reviewing participants' progress in the program and mentoring students and physicians participating in the program;

(g) Developing and participating in programs that provide initial practice support in collaboration with other interested professional organizations;

(h) The commission shall have the authority through use of generally applicable definitions, to designate an area of the state as underserved or rural. The method by which these designations shall be made shall be contained in rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.

SECTION 3. Section 37-144-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-144-7. (1) The commission shall develop and implement policies and procedures designed to recruit, identify and enroll undergraduate students who demonstrate necessary interest, commitment, aptitude and academic achievement to pursue careers as family physicians, child psychiatrists or other generalist physicians in rural or medically underserved areas of Mississippi, and to develop and implement the programs designed to foster successful entry of participants into medical school, completion of medical school, enrollment into and completion of family medicine or other generalist residency, and establishment and maintenance of a career in family medicine, child psychiatry or other generalist specialty in a rural or underserved area of Mississippi.

(2) The commission shall have the authority through use of generally applicable definitions to designate an area of the state as underserved or rural.

(3) The commission, in conjunction with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, shall have the authority to provide students selected for scholarship funding with faculty mentors and other programs designed to enhance the students' likelihood of admission to the medical school. The commission and the University of Mississippi Medical Center will develop coursework that will provide scholarship students with the skills necessary for sustained and successful medical practice in rural Mississippi.

(4) Each applicant for admission to the program must submit an application to the commission that conforms to requirements established by the commission.

(5) In selecting participants for the program, the board may only accept an applicant if his or her academic record and other characteristics, if given consideration by the University of Mississippi School of Medicine Admissions Committee, would be considered credible and competitive.

(6) An applicant for the program may be admitted only upon a majority vote of the members of the commission.

(7) Not less than fifteen (15) students will be admitted to the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program each year, provided that there are fifteen (15) or more qualified applicants for the program.

(8) Upon the funding of * * * ~~sixty‑one (61)~~ sixty-three (63) or more rural physicians scholarships by the Legislature and recognizing the importance of balancing the needs of comprehensive primary care along with a critical shortage of psychiatrists in Mississippi, the commission may grant an exception for fourth-year medical or osteopathic school (M4) students who demonstrate a desire to practice psychiatry in rural Mississippi and who use a practice model and enter the practice of medicine in a rural or underserved area in Mississippi, as defined by the commission, beginning for the M4 class of * * * ~~2020~~ 2024.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.