PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota faces a shortage of health care professionals in rural counties, and two bills making their way through the House aim to boost numbers of medical workers in these less populated areas.
The House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved two Gov. Dennis Daugaard-sponsored bills that support his South Dakota Workforce Initiatives, or South Dakota WINS. This program attracts a more educated workforce across the state to the medical field and other industries.
Secretary of Health Doneen Hollingsworth said the bills also help provide care for the state's growing elderly population and replace the current health professionals who will soon retire.
Recommended For You
One bill allows doctors or dentists who agree to work at a rural facility for three years to get reimbursed for double the cost of attending the University of South Dakota School of Medicine for four years. Presently, that amount adds up to about $125,000, Hollingsworth said.
The measure changes a reimbursement program already in place and expands eligibility to physicians in pediatrics, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology. It limits communities to those with no more than 10,000 residents.
Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives could also apply. They would get twice the resident tuition for three years of study in their fields.
Communities of 2,500 residents or less would pay 25 percent of the bonus to each professional, while those with up to 5,000 people would pay 50 percent. The remaining ones would contribute 75 percent of the incentive payment. The state would pay its part after the professional completed the three-year commitment.
The second Senate bill approved by the panel gives $10,000 to participants in what has been known as the South Dakota Health Professional Recruitment Incentive Program, started in 2002. The program currently pays a $5,000 bonus to such professionals as dietitians, paramedics, lab technicians, physical therapists and pharmacists who have completed two years of service. If signed into law, the bill doubles the bonus and adds one year to the commitment.
Sixty professionals selected by the Health Department can participate each year in areas with no more than 10,000 residents. Communities of 2,500 people or less would pay 25 percent of the payment, and those with a population above 2,500 would pay 50 percent.
Participating facilities must work with the state's Medicaid program to receive recruited professionals. The state would also contribute its part after the participant completed the three-year job.
The two bills now head to the full House for a vote.
"In South Dakota, 59 of the state's 66 counties have been federally designated, all or portions of, as health professional shortage areas," Hollingsworth said, adding that the bills give these struggling areas tools to recruit providers they need.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
