Eligibility Requirements

Any community (or health care organization) in Kansas except those in Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties is eligible to participate in the Kansas Bridging Plan.

How to participate

If your community has an open position for a primary care physician and is interested in participating in the Kansas Bridging Plan, simply notify Rural Health Education and Services. We will inform the resident physicians enrolled in the Kansas Bridging Plan of your open position, and will even assist in scheduling interviews with them for your organization.

Community obligations

The community or organization with which a Kansas Bridging Plan resident physician signs a practice commitment agreement (contract) agrees to match the State's loan amount up to $10,000, and loan an additional $6,000 upon completion of residency training, for a total of up to $16,000. Although the practice agreement is a private contract between the physician and the community, a sample contract is available for communities to use as a model.

When to start recruiting

It is never too early to begin interviewing resident physicians for a practice opportunity in your community. Many Kansas Bridging Plan resident physicians begin their search for a practice site during their first year of residency, while others wait until their second or third year to begin the search. Rural Health Education and Services staff can assist your community in scheduling interviews with Kansas Bridging Plan resident physicians, and will notify all who meet the community's position requirements and who have not yet selected a practice site.

How is the loan forgiven?

Although a community's portion of the Kansas Bridging Plan loan is governed by a private contract with the resident physician, many communities choose to model their loan-forgiveness contract after the one that the State uses. (To see a Sample Practice Commitment Agreement between Community and Resident, click here.) In the State's contract, because the duration of the Kansas Bridging Plan service obligation is 36 months, the loan principal is divided into 36 equal payments and is forgiven by that amount on a monthly basis as long as the resident practices medicine in compliance with the Kansas Bridging Plan Residency Loan Agreement. Interest on the loan is also forgiven on a monthly basis. Interest, at the annual rate of 15%, begins accruing on the principal balance on the date the money was received by the resident. Interest that accrues during residency training is forgiven all at once after the first month the physician practices in compliance with the Residency Loan Agreement. Thereafter, the amount forgiven each month is equal to monthly principal amount (1/36th of the total amount loaned) plus the interest that accrues monthly on the remaining principal balance.