Rural Provider Incentive Program
South Carolina AHEC Recruitment & Retention Programs
About the Program
The Rural Provider Incentive Program was initiated by the South Carolina Legislature in 1989 as the Rural Physician Program to address the undersupply of clinicians in rural and underserved South Carolina communities. The program provides financial incentives for primary care physicians and advanced practice professionals who commit to practice in a rural or underserved area of South Carolina for a period of four years. To date, the program has funded over 675 providers in rural communities throughout South Carolina. Statistics have shown that retention rates are greatly enhanced if these professionals remain in the site for four or more years.
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Program Details & Eligibility
To address the maldistribution of healthcare providers in South Carolina, the Rural Provider Incentive Program provides financial incentives to qualified healthcare providers who contract to practice in rural and underserved areas for up to 4 years.
Program Funding
The Rural Provider Incentive Program may fund:
- Qualified Physicians
- In counties with a population less than 50,000 = $25,000 per year for up to 4 years
- In counties with a population over 50,000 who work in rural areas (non-urbanized) or who work in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in urban areas = $15,000 per year for up to 4 years
- Qualified Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistants
- In counties with a population less than 50,000 = $12,500 per year for up to 4 years
- In counties with a population over 50,000 who work in rural areas (non-urbanized) or who work in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in urban areas = $7,500 per year for up to 4 years
- Physicians who complete a South Carolina family medicine residency program
- New South Carolina family medicine residency program graduates who agree to practice full-time primary care on an outpatient basis in a whole county geographic health professional shortage area (HPSA) are eligible for an enhanced incentive of $30,000 per year for four years
- Residents may apply at any time during their residency training but funding does not begin until the physician has completed their training.
Eligible Providers
Applicants must be in one of the roles below to be considered for funding:
- Primary care physicians (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN)
- General surgeons
- Psychiatrists
- Nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants practicing in the above specialties (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, general surgery, psychiatry)
Other Eligibility Requirements
- Must practice in an outpatient setting in an underserved area (see FAQs below for more information)
- Must accept both Medicare and Medicaid
- Must work 36 hours/week to qualify for full-time incentives, 20 hours/week for part-time incentives
- Must be licensed by the state of South Carolina and board certified
- Applications are encouraged from residents who will be completing their training within the year and it is expected that the resident will become board certified.
- Must be a U.S. citizen
- Must have practiced in the community for less than 5 years
- Cannot previously have received an award from the Rural Provider Incentive Program, Rural Physician Loan Repayment Program, or Rural Behavioral Health Professional Incentive Program
Priority
The intent of this program is to assist physicians and advanced practice professionals in establishing or joining practices in rural or underserved areas. Ideally, during the four-year period of commitment, they will develop viable practices and become involved in their communities, so that they will continue practicing in the areas after the funding period is over.
Priority for this program will be given to those practicing in areas of highest need (most medically underserved). Candidates are prioritized using an objective checklist that awards points for categories such as community need, specialty and retention factors (e.g., education and/or training in South Carolina).
More Details & Information
Application Process
Program Timeline
Applications are received and reviewed on a set schedule every year. Please see below for a high-level program timeline:
- Applications open: mid-to-late October
- Applications due: March
- Applications reviewed: March-June
- Applicants notified of funding decisions: July
- Contracts start: July
- Contracts may start off-cycle if required due to other service obligations or other circumstances.
- Payments are issued at the end of each contract year upon confirmation that recipient is practicing at the location and capacity they indicated on their application.
Steps to Apply
- Click "Apply" button (only available when application cycle is open) to be routed to the Eligibility Form
- Complete Eligibility Form
- If eligible, you will be routed to the full application
- Please complete online application in the Submittable portal. You can save as a draft and return to submit when completed.
- You will receive a confirmation email after submitting your application. If you do not receive a confirmation email from Submittable within 24 hours, please contact retention@scahec.net.
Required Documentation
All application materials must be submitted online through the Submittable portal by the deadline in order to be considered. We will not accept any applications or documents via email, mail or fax. In order for your application to be considered complete, you must upload all required materials to your application in Submittable, including:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Completed Employment Verification Form* (This form is sent to your practice manager via the Submittable system and must be completed by the application deadline in order for your application to be considered complete.)
*Please note: you must have a practice site/employment location secured to be eligible for this program. For resources for identifying rural employment opportunities in South Carolina, please visit the South Carolina Office of Rural Health’s website.
Submit Application
The application cycle is currently closed and will reopen in mid-to-late October 2025.
Join our mailing list to receive updates about the Rural Provider Incentive Program and get notified when application cycles open.
Join the Incentive Program Mailing ListProgram Administration
This program is administered by South Carolina AHEC and managed by the Rural Physician Board, the members of which are defined in the South Carolina Code of Laws. This board meets periodically to vote on applicants and to discuss other items of business. The Rural Physician Board is composed of representatives from the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, the South Carolina Medical Association, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the South Carolina Department of Public Health, the South Carolina Hospital Association, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the USC School of Medicine, an appointee of the South Carolina House of Representatives Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee, an appointee of the South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Committee, and three at-large members with two representing nursing and one representing allied health sciences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please refer to the information above and program handbook for all eligibility requirements. The first step of the application is completion of an eligibility form, which will help you determine your eligibility. We are not able to provide eligibility determinations outside of the application process and cannot provide this information via email or phone call. If you believe you are eligible for the program, we encourage you to apply.
Eligible practice sites include those located in a non-urbanized area of South Carolina, OR a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) in an urban area. To check if your practice site is located in a non-urbanized area:
- Utilize the Rural Health Information Hub's "Am I Rural?" Tool.
- Enter your practice location in the text box and click “Locate”.
- Click “Run Report” in the location information on the map next to the address.
- On the results page, scroll down to the “Program Eligibility” section.
- Check the “CMS Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Program” row:
- If it says “Yes” – your practice location is non-urbanized.
- If it says, “No” – your practice location is urbanized and not eligible for this program.
Please note, we are not able to provide site eligibility determinations outside of the application process and cannot provide this information via email or phone call.
Program eligibility and funding priorities are based on where you physically practice. Please be sure to include all of your practice locations on your application to ensure your application can be accurately reviewed by the Rural Physician Board.
Program eligibility and funding priorities are based on where you physically practice, which must be in a non-urbanized area. Please be sure to include all of your practice locations on your application to ensure your application can be accurately reviewed by the Rural Physician Board.
Providers creating or joining a new practice must have an active patient panel for at least 6 months prior to the application deadline.
Residency program faculty in nonurbanized areas may apply for funding. If selected for funding, they will be funded based on patient care hours, not teaching/instructional hours.
Some providers may be eligible for both programs and can apply to both/either. However, if an applicant accepts funding from one program, they become ineligible to receive funding from the other program (even at a later date).
Emails will be sent to all applicants indicating if they were approved or not approved. Accepted applicants will be notified if they receive funding in July and more information about contracts will be provided at that time.
Priority for this program will be given to applicants practicing in areas of highest need (most medically underserved). Candidates are prioritized using an objective checklist that awards points for categories such as community need, specialty and retention factors.
Payments are made annually at the end of the contract year. If the practitioner leaves the employment of the practice during the contract year, the practitioner will be considered to have terminated the contract and will not receive the annual payment.
This is a financial incentive program, and recipients are not required to use the funds to repay student loans.
For issues with your Submittable account, you can reach out to the Submittable Support Team or at submittersupport@submittable.com.
You can apply for both the NHSC Loan Repayment Program and the SC AHEC Rural Provider Incentive Program, but you cannot receive funding from both at the same time.
South Carolina AHEC provides funding directly to program recipients and will not provide funding to employers. Organizations may highlight South Carolina AHEC incentive programs as a part of their recruitment and retention efforts. However, please note that selection for the program is not guaranteed and program eligibility requirements apply. Funding decisions are prioritized by the Board based on areas of greatest need represented during a given funding cycle, so community prioritization from cycle to cycle may vary based on applicant pool. Please reach out to the SC AHEC communications team for appropriate language to use in your materials.
Yes, many applicants will apply in multiple cycles as long as they are still eligible.
Questions?
If you were unable to find the information you are looking for in the information and handouts above, let us know! Contact us at retention@scahec.net.
Please note, we are not able to provide eligibility determinations outside of the application process and cannot provide this information via email or phone call. If you want to know if your site is eligible, please see How do I check the eligibility of my practice site? in the Frequently Asked Questions section above.