H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 9B.4 of S.L. 2023-134 requires the Office of Rural Health (ORH), Division of Central Management, Department of Health and Human Services, to allocate $25 million in nonrecurring funds from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund for each year of the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium to the North Carolina Loan Repayment Program (NC LRP). The funds must be used as follows:

• $9 million in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium is allocated to expand the current NC LRP.
• $5 million in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium is allocated to fund a new initiative to recruit and retain primary care physicians in rural and underserved areas of the state.
• $10 million in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium is allocated to fund a new initiative to recruit and retain behavioral health providers in rural and underserved areas of the state.
• $1 million in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2023-25 fiscal biennium is allocated to expand the NC LRP to include nurses.

Up to 5% of the funds allocated can be used for administrative purposes and to partner with the North Carolina Area Health Education Center Program to enroll additional NC LRP participants. ORH must report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, on the use of the funds appropriated under this section.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.