2023 Iowa Code 261.116 – Health care award program
For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
A health care award program is established to be administered by the commission for purposes of providing financial awards to registered nurses, advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse educators who practice full-time in a service commitment area or teach full-time or part-time in this state, as appropriate, and who are selected for the program in accordance with this section. An applicant who is a member of the Iowa national guard is exempt from the service commitment area requirement, but shall submit an affidavit verifying the applicant is practicing full-time in this state. A part-time nurse educator must also practice as a registered nurse or an advanced registered nurse practitioner to qualify for an award under this section.
Each applicant for an award shall, in accordance with the rules of the commission, do the following:
The annual amount of an award provided to a recipient under this section is six thousand dollars. A recipient is eligible for an award for not more than five consecutive years.
The commission shall establish by rule the evaluation criteria to be used in evaluating applications submitted under this section. Priority shall be given to applicants who are residents of Iowa and, if requested by the adjutant general, to applicants who are members of the Iowa national guard.
A health care award fund is created for deposit of moneys appropriated to or received by the commission for use under the program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys deposited in the health care award fund shall not revert to any fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year but shall remain in the award fund and be continuously available for use under the program. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the health care award fund shall be credited to the fund.
The commission shall submit in a report to the general assembly by January 1, annually, the number of individuals who received an award pursuant to this section, where the participants practiced or taught, the amount paid to each program participant, and other information identified by the commission as indicators of outcomes of the program.