As state budget conferees met last week to iron out differences in the House and Senate versions of the state budget bill (House Bill 166), the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians made a hard push for inclusion of language that would fix a problem that has made Ohio’s medical schools hesitant to promote Choose Ohio First Primary Care scholarships to medical students.
The House-passed budget bill included language that delayed the time period in which a state university or college must repay a Choose Ohio First Award when terms of the award have been violated. Under the terms of the House-passed language, the medical school would not need to repay the award until the medical school is able to obtain repayment from the student who defaulted on the scholarship agreement.
Current repayment terms on scholarship defaults are so onerous to medical schools that they have been hesitant and/or unwilling to promote the scholarships to students. The House-passed language alleviates those concerns so that students training for careers in primary care can once again benefit from Choose Ohio First Primary Care scholarships.
The language was removed from the Senate-passed version of the budget, but conferees start work from the House-passed version.
Conferees were unable to reach an agreement prior to the June 30 deadline. A 17-day interim budget was passed to give extra time to work out details for a final budget.