Gov. Kay Ivey signing the bill, School of Health Professions Dean Andrew Butler stands 2nd from the right.
Governor Kay Ivey, during a bill signing ceremony on Thursday, signed into law the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program to provide income tax credit incentives for certain health professions students who train in rural and underserved counties across Alabama.
The bill, HB133, will allow a tax credit of $500 per rotation (up to an annual maximum of $6,000) for community-based physicians, dentist, or optometrists. It will also allow a tax credit of $425 per rotation (up to an annual maximum of $5,100) for community-based assistant to physician preceptors and advanced practice nurse preceptors.
In Alabama, there are 2.78 million people living in Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) – 62 percent of the total population. The Alabama Department of Health reports 58 of 67 counties are Medically Underserved Areas and every Alabama county has Medically Underserved Populations (MUA/Ps).
“This bill will allow many more clinics in rural Alabama to bring aspiring health professionals who will deliver much needed care to the families in these communities that have been underserved for far too long,” said UAB School of Health Professions Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D. “It will also provide our students an opportunity to witness how personal and personalized medicine can be at a hyper-local level and I believe many of them will choose a career serving people who live in the areas of most need.”
The Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Center Program Office shall administer the program and certify clinical preceptorships on behalf of all eligible qualified health professions training programs.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Neil Rafferty of District 54. In addition to the School of Health Professions, it was supported by UAB’s School of Nursing and Heersink School of Medicine (Department of Family and Community Medicine). It passed the House in a vote of 103 Yea, 0 Nay, 1 Abstain and the Senate in a vote of 31 Yea, 0 Nay, 4 Abstain. It is now officially known as Preceptor Tax Incentive Program Act.
For in-depth coverage of the bill and process, click here to read the story by Caroline Newman with the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine.
