(a) There is hereby created the "Primary Care Support Program" within the division of health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. The program shall provide technical and organizational assistance to community-based primary care services throughout the state.

(b) The primary care support program shall create and administer a primary care revolving loan fund to lend money to primary care centers in need of immediate financial assistance. In order to qualify for the loans, a primary care center must be a nonprofit corporation, have a community board, provide services to the public regardless of ability to pay (such as on a sliding fee scale basis) and present proof of designation as a federally qualified health center or rural health center, of steps taken to qualify as a federally qualified health center or rural health center or of why status as a federally qualified or rural health center would not result in improved revenues to the center.

There is hereby created a special revenue fund in the state Treasury to be known as the primary care loan fund into which all appropriations, payments and interest to the revolving loan fund created herein shall be deposited, to be held and disbursed according to law.

(c) The primary care support program shall create and administer a "Primary Care Uncompensated Care Fund". All revenues contained in the fund shall be distributed to primary care centers in the form of grants designed to offset the primary care centers' costs of providing uncompensated health care services. In order to qualify for the grants, a primary care center must be a nonprofit corporation, have a community board, provide services to the public regardless of ability to pay (such as on a sliding fee scale basis) and present proof of designation as a federally qualified health center or rural health center, of steps taken to qualify as a federally qualified health center or rural health center, or of why status as a federally qualified or rural health center would not result in improved revenues to the center.

(d) The primary care support program shall provide seed money grants and technical assistance to help nonprofit, community-based organizations create new primary care services for people in their community. Under no circumstances will a specific project be entitled to receive the grants for more than three years. In order to qualify for the grants, applicants must provide the following:

(1) A description of an unmet need for certain primary care services in their community;

(2) A detailed account, including a budget, of how the applicant's project will use technical and financial assistance from the program and other sources to develop the primary care services within one year that will be available to the public regardless of ability to pay;

(3) A detailed account, including a budget, showing how the services will continue to be funded once established and showing how potential federal and charitable funds will be maximized;

(4) An account of the extent of community involvement and support for the project;

(5) A description of how the project will be coordinated with local activities of the division of health, regional health advisory councils, the health care planning commission, medical schools, local health departments, primary care clinics or other public health agencies.

(e) The director of health shall promulgate rules in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this article, and shall approve all loans, grants and disbursements of money authorized by this article.

§16-2H-3. Preventive services and health education.

As used in subsection (d), section two of this article, the term "primary care services" includes preventive services and health education. Ten percent of the seed money grants awarded by the program to local projects under said subsection shall support the development of community-based preventive services and health education, which shall not be required to be self-supporting at the conclusion of the grant period.

§16-2H-4. Advisory board.

The division of health shall convene a fifteen-person advisory board consisting of persons familiar with community-based primary care services and public health planning efforts to assist in the implementation of this program.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2017 Regular Session
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