State program to help recruit medical professionals set to expand

A state program that helps health care providers recruit and retain skilled medical professionals is being expanded.

For the last 10 years the state Department of Health and Social Services has coordinated a program allowing newly graduated physicians and other medical professionals who carry hefty education debt to tap federal funds for loan repayments, said Robert Sewell, the state’s coordinator for the program.

Since the “Support for Service to Health Care Professionals,” or SHARP, program began in 2010 some 349 contracts for financial assistance to health professionals have been signed to 302 health professionals, some who have received more than one contract. These include 174 medical, 46 dental and 82 behavioral health practitioners. This year about 100 more agreements for assistance are expected to be signed.

Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services, or DH&SS, coordinates the program, which offers contracts supported mainly by federal and employer funds. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and MatSu Health Foundation have also contributed, Sewell said.

The state’s involvement is required to get tax-free status for the practitioners’ education loan repayment. The tax exemption is a key added benefit of the SHARP program. If the grants were taxable it would substantially dilute the benefits of the program, he said.

People getting the federal funds must agree to work in rural communities designated as underserved, which has included parts of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The loan repayments are tailored to the young and newly-graduated another part of the program provides cash incentives to experienced professionals as an inducement for them to work in high-need locations such as small rural communities. To date has been funded mostly with federal funds but for a period state funds were made available to aid health providers in larger communities recruit staff.

Now another new phase of SHARP is set to launch, known as SHARP-3, Sewell said in a recent briefing in Juneau to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority’s board. In the new phase health care employers along with private contributors will pay the incentives, although the DH&SS will still manage the program to maintain the tax-free status of grants.

The original program, known as Sharp-1, targeted at rural areas is expected to continue, Sewell said, but the new employer-paid benefits will help recruit staff in all parts of the state. A Sharp-2 program funded with state funds is no longer accepting applications. The bill passed by the Legislature authorizing the new employer-paid phase has been signed by the governor and regulations have been written and are under review within state agencies. They will go out for public comment soon.

To date, professionals have been placed in 40 communities with 54 employers including 16 tribal employers. The tribal employers have received 56 percent of the contracts. Overall, 70 percent of contracts have been to workers in rural and remote communities.

To date $15.7 million has been spent in the program, a combination of federal, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, health care employers and state funds. The new expansion, involving 100 new contracts for financial assistance, will increase the funding by $5 million. So far 58 percent of the financial assistance contracts have gone to medical professionals, 27 percent to behavioral health practitioners, and 15 percent to dental professionals.