Idaho Rural Physician Incentive Program (RPIP)

208.334.0669
ruralhealth@dhw.idaho.gov

The Rural Physician Incentive Program (RPIP) offers loan repayment assistance to primary care physicians who agree to practice in Health Professional shortage Areas of Idaho that demonstrate a need for assistance in physician recruitment.

For the purposes of this program, primary care includes:

• Family medicine
• General internal medicine
• General pediatrics

If there is a demonstrated high level of need in an eligible area, it may also include

• Obstetrics and gynecology
• General psychiatry
• General surgery
• Emergency medicine

The physician must spend a minimum of 28 hours per week on average providing primary care medicine services to patients in an eligible area and agree to serve for a period of 4 years.

Both Allopathic and Osteopathic physicians are eligible to apply. The physician must accept Medicare and Medicaid patients within the capacity of his or her medical practice.

Physicians who have paid into the RPIP fund as a student through either the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho (WWAMI) medical education program or the University of Utah School of Medicine (UUSM) will be given a preference over other applicants.

Physicians receiving medical education debt assistance from another state or federal repayment program are not eligible.

Physicians are eligible to receive a maximum of $100,000 over a 4 year period toward their academic debt.

Links to a map of eligible areas, online application are available on the program website.