Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), with the approval of its Governing Board, added $5 million additional dollars to its Network Enhancement Fund (NEF) to bring new providers to practice in the Inland Empire (IE) to help improve access to care for more than 1.12 million IEHP Members. The program, started in late 2014, continues to add new providers to the Inland Empire.
With a budget of $16 million, the NEF program will fund 130 new providers:
— Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) – 50% of one-year cost up to $100,000 and $25,000 sign-on bonus
— Specialist Physicians (SPs) – 50% of one-year cost up to $150,000 and $25,000 sign-on bonus
— Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) – 50% of one-year cost up to $75,000
— Rural or other hard-to-contract areas or specialties – $50,000 sign-on bonus
The NEF program is already successful, adding 80 newly hired providers for the Inland Empire, including 34 PCPs, 32 SPs and 14 mid-level providers (PAs and NPs). This will significantly improve access to care for IEHP Members.