Montana Rural Physician Incentive Program (MRPIP)

Characteristics of Qualifying Locations

It is the intent of the legislation upon which this program is based to provide assistance for medically underserved populations and rural communities in Montana that have difficulty attracting and maintaining adequate numbers of physicians.

Traditionally, such rural communities have populations of less than 8,000 and hospitals with less than 50 beds or have demonstrated shortages of physicians serving specific populations. Medically underserved practices may include federally qualified community health centers and others. Many of these areas have been designated by the United States government as health professional shortage areas (HPSA). Hospitals and other medical facilities in these areas must clearly document their inability to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of physicians.