135.193  State-funded family medicine obstetrics fellowship program — fund.
  1.  The department shall establish a state-funded family medicine obstetrics fellowship program to increase access to family medicine obstetrics practitioners in rural and underserved areas of the state. A person who has completed an accreditation council for graduate medical education residency program in family medicine is eligible for participation in the fellowship program. Participating fellows shall enter into a program agreement with a participating teaching hospital which, at a minimum, requires the fellow to complete a one-year fellowship and to engage in full-time family medicine obstetrics practice in a rural or underserved area of the state for a period of at least five years within nine months following completion of the fellowship and receipt of a license to practice medicine in the state.
  2.  Each fellow participating in the program shall be eligible for a salary and benefits including a stipend as determined by the participating teaching hospital which shall be funded through the family medicine obstetrics fellowship program fund.
  3.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer the program, including defining rural and underserved areas for the purpose of the required full-time practice of a person following completion of the fellowship.
  4.  a.  A family medicine obstetrics fellowship program fund is created in the state treasury consisting of the moneys appropriated or credited to the fund by law. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund but shall remain in the fund for use in subsequent fiscal years. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department to be used to fund fellowship positions as provided in this section.
  b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and each fiscal year beginning July 1 thereafter, there is appropriated from the general fund of the state for deposit in the family medicine obstetrics fellowship program fund an amount sufficient to support the creation of four fellowship positions as provided in this section.
  5.  The department and the participating teaching hospitals shall regularly evaluate and document their experiences including identifying ways the program may be modified or expanded to facilitate increased access to family medicine obstetrics practitioners in rural and underserved areas of the state. The department shall submit an annual report to the general assembly by January 1. The report shall include the number of fellowships funded to date and any other information identified by the department and the participating teaching hospitals as indicators of outcomes and the effectiveness of the program.
  6.  For the purposes of this section, “teaching hospital” means a hospital or medical center that provides medical education to prospective and current health professionals.
2023 Acts, ch 112, §67