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12/26/2003 Entry: "HHS Reopens Physician Waiver Program"

The US Department of Health and Human Services recently reopened its J-1 waiver program for physicians working in underserved areas. The program was closed several months ago without warning or explanation. When it reopened, several additional rules were announced that will significantly reduce the number of physicians that will be eligible for waivers.

The Department of Health and Human Services is now accepting applications for the
waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement of the Exchange Visitor Program based on
clinical care practice in shortage areas.

The criteria for waivers based on research remains unchanged, though the application form
(HHS 426) has minor revisions. Please follow the instructions on the supplementary information
sheet.

Applications for Waiver of the Two-year Foreign Residence
Requirement (Clinical Care) of the Exchange Visitor Program

Requirements for Waiver for Clinical Service

Fiscal Year 2004 (through September 30, 2004)

General Requirements : See “Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement of the Exchange Visitor Program” published in the Federal Register , December 19, 2002; for HHS rules that govern requests for waivers for service in underserved areas.

Specific Requirements for Fiscal Year 2004 : To target communities and populations in the greatest need for primary care and mental health services, HHS will only process an application for waiver from a facility in or with a health professional shortage area (HPSA) score of 14 or higher . Further, a facility in a HPSA that scores 14 or higher must be either:

A health center as defined under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act;
A rural health clinic as defined under Sections 1102 and 1871 of the Social Security Act; or
A Native American/Alaskan Native tribal medical facility as defined by the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638).
[Note: These are the only facilities from which HHS will accept an application; it is not known how many of these facilities are recruiting or are interested in recruiting a J-1 physician.]

ATTENTION J-1 PHYSICIANS :

To simplify your search, please go to www.bhpr.hrsa.gov “Health Professional Shortage Areas,” “Search the Database,” and set the search parameters within a State for designated Primary Care or Mental Health HPSAs with a minimum score of 14. These are the areas in which you may search for an eligible facility.

ATTENTION EMPLOYERS :

If you have a position posted on the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Approved Practice List, you may only offer that position to a J-1 Visa physician in the event that it remains unfilled by a NHSC scholar or loan repayer eligible for placement in FY 2004.

Application Package : A complete application package consists of an application form (filled out and signed) and the supporting documentation requested in Supplementary Information B, below. We will accept an incomplete package, but processing will be delayed until we have received materials. A physician may complete the CCVS enrollment (see below) and application forms before the waiver application package is submitted; however, credentialing will not begin until we have received an acceptable waiver application package.

SUBMIT ONLY ONE COPY. DO NOT STAPLE.

APPLICATION PACKAGES MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN

SEPTEMBER 30, 2004.

Click here to go to the Global Health web page of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

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