PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The Senate has passed a bill allowing incentive payments as a way to entice more health care professionals to rural areas of the state.
The bill says that professionals in certain health care fields who commit to practicing in communities with 10,000 or fewer people for at least three years could receive an incentive payment to help with the cost of school tuition.
The professionals include doctors, dentists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives.
Only a certain number of professionals in each field could take advantage of the program at one time. Graduates of the South Dakota School of Medicine who did their residency in state would have priority over other applicants.
The Senate voted 34-0 on Thursday. It goes next to the House.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
