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BILL WOULD GIVE INCENTIVE FOR DOCS TO SERVE IN RURAL WISCONSIN
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 -- 9:36 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
  Audio - 1:06
An area state Representative is touting the Assembly’s passage of the “Rural Healthcare Expansion Act”.
Some might call it the “Northern Exposure Bill”. In the quirky ‘90’s comedy, the fineprint in Dr. Joel Fleischman’s scholarship forces the big city doctor to practice in remote Alaska.
If passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, this Wisconsin legislation would provide incentives to any Wisconsin-educated doctor who pledges to practice for six years in rural and underserved areas of the state.
“We don’t have enough doctors in rural areas and that’s created a problem in terms of access to quality healthcare,” State Represenative Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) says.
The legislation will provide up to $40,000 in loan forgiveness grants to new doctors who graduate from Wisconsin medical schools.
“It’s absolutely critical we provide some sort of incentives. We didn’t want to provide ‘free everything’, but we at least wanted to provide incentives so doctors could pay off their loans to serve in rural area,” Suder says.
The Bill has wide bipartisan support. Suder expects the Governor would sign it if it passes the Senate.
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