PERMANENT RULES
Date of Adoption: August 28, 2002.
Purpose: The amendments of WAC 246-562-080 will allow physicians with training in geriatric medicine to apply for primary care waivers, and will allow for physicians in their last six months of training to be eligible for application. The amendments to WAC 246-562-160 clean up outdated implementation language.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-562-080 and 246-562-160.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 70.185 RCW.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 02-15-161 on July 23, 2002.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
Pilot Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
or Other Alternative Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 2,
Repealed 0.
Effective Date of Rule:
Thirty-one days after filing.
September 16, 2002
M. C. Selecky
Secretary
OTS-5803.3
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-15-082, filed 7/19/00,
effective 8/19/00)
WAC 246-562-080
Criteria for the physician.
(1) The
physician must not have a J-1 visa waiver pending for any
other employment offer.
(2) Physicians must have the qualifications described in recruitment efforts for a specific vacancy.
(3) Physicians are considered eligible to apply for a waiver when:
(a) They have successfully completed their residency or fellowship program; or
(b) They are in the last six months of a residency or fellowship program, and the physician provides a letter from their program that:
(i) Identifies the date the physician will complete the residency or fellowship program; and
(ii) Confirms the physician is in good standing with the program.
(4) Physicians applying as primary care physicians must:
(a) Provide direct patient care; and
(b) Be trained in:
(i) Family practice; or
(ii) General internal medicine; or
(iii) Pediatrics; or
(iv) Geriatric medicine; or
(v) Obstetrics and gynecology; or
(((v))) (vi) Psychiatry and its subspecialties; and
(c) Except for geriatric medicine and psychiatrists, not have any additional specialty training. Continuing medical education (CME) will not be considered specialty training for the purposes of this rule.
(((4))) (5) Physicians applying as specialists must:
(a) Provide direct patient care;
(b) Be trained in a subspecialty as defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and published in the 1999-2000 Graduate Medical Education Directory, which is hereby incorporated by reference of:
(i) Internal medicine, except for geriatric medicine; or
(ii) Family practice, except for geriatric medicine; or a specialty as defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and published in the 1999-2000 Graduate Medical Education Directory, which is hereby incorporated by reference of
(iii) General surgery; or
(iv) Radiology-diagnostic((; and
(v) Be an active candidate for board certification on or before the start date of employment)).
(((c))) (6) Copies of the 1999-2000 Graduate Medical
Education Directory are available from the American Medical
Association or can be viewed at the Washington State
Department of Health, Office of Community and Rural Health,
2725 Harrison NW, Olympia WA 98504.
(((5))) (7) Physicians must have an active Washington
state medical license, unless unusual circumstances delay
licensing. If the application for a Washington state medical
license has been received by the Washington state medical
quality assurance commission four or more weeks prior to
submission of the visa waiver application, the applicant may
substitute a copy of the license application and request an
exception.
(((6))) (8) Physicians must be an active candidate for
board certification on or before the start date of employment.
(9) Physicians must have at least one recommendation from their residency program if applying as a primary care physician or from their fellowship program if applying as a specialist that:
(a) Addresses the physician's interpersonal and professional ability to effectively care for diverse and low-income people in the United States; and
(b) Describes an ability to work well with supervisory and subordinate medical staff, and adapt to the culture of United States health care facilities; and
(c) Documents level of specialty training, if any; and
(d) Is prepared on residency program letterhead and is signed by residency program staff or faculty; and
(e) Includes name, title, relationship to physician, address and telephone number of signatory.
(((7))) (10) The physician must comply with all
provisions of the employment contract.
(((8))) (11) Physician must:
(a) Accept Medicaid assignment; and
(b) Post and implement a sliding fee discount schedule; and
(c) Serve the low-income population; and
(d) Serve the uninsured population; and
(e) Serve the shortage designation population; or
(f) Serve the population of a local, state, or federal governmental institution or corrections facility as an employee of the institution.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.185 RCW. 00-15-082, § 246-562-080, filed 7/19/00, effective 8/19/00; 98-20-067, § 246-562-080, filed 10/2/98, effective 11/2/98.]
(2) ((Ten working days after the effective date of this
rule, the department will determine:
(a) The number of J-1 visa waiver sponsorships already approved during the federal fiscal year which ends September 30, 2000;
(b) The number of pending primary care applications which the department has determined to be complete.
The department will subtract the sum of these two numbers from twenty which is the total number of J-1 visa waiver sponsorships the federal government has allocated to the state of Washington for the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2000. The department will multiply the difference between these two numbers by .25. In the event the product of this operation is a whole number, the department will allocate that number of J-1 visa waiver sponsorships to specialists for the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2000. In the event the product of this operation is not a whole number, the department will determine the larger of the two whole numbers between which the product falls, and will allocate that number of J-1 visa waiver sponsorships to specialists for the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2000. All other J-1 visa waiver sponsorships available during the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, will be allocated to primary care physicians.
(3))) The department will not ((accept)) process J-1 visa
waiver sponsorship applications ((from specialists)) until
((ten days after)) the effective date of the amendments ((of
which this rule is a part)) to WAC 246-562-080, but may advise
((specialists)) applicants with respect to any proposed
application.
(((4) The department will prioritize among specialists
applying for J-1 visa waiver sponsorships for the federal
fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, using criteria
generally applicable to the selection of specialists under
this chapter.)) (3) Applications received by the office of
community and rural health between October 1, 2002, and the
effective date of the amendments to WAC 246-562-080 will be
date and time stamped, and will be processed on the effective
date of the rule in the order received.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.185 RCW. 00-15-082, § 246-562-160, filed 7/19/00, effective 8/19/00.]