Section 591.130  Selection Process

a)         The Department will not begin the selection process until all issues with incomplete applications have been resolved (see Section 591.120(d)(1)(B)).

b)         The U.S. Department of State allows state health departments to submit 30 J-1 waiver requests per federal fiscal year.  When the Department has processed and approved 30 waiver requests in a federal fiscal year, subsequent applications will not be considered.

c)         In the first quarter of the federal fiscal year, a maximum of two applications may be approved for waiver recommendations for physicians who propose to work at the same medical facility.  In subsequent calendar quarters, applications from physicians proposing to work at medical facilities that have already received two waiver recommendations will be considered; however, selection priority will be given to applications from physicians proposing to work at medical facilities that have not previously employed physicians with waivers or who do not currently employ a physician with a waiver.

d)         The following selection criteria will apply to primary care physicians and psychiatrists:

1)         Applicants will be ranked based on the primary care or mental health HPSA score determined by DHHS (as applicable) of their respective medical facility.  If an applicant proposes to work at more than one medical facility, the primary care or mental health HPSA score of the medical facility where the applicant will predominately work will be used to rank the applicant.

2)         If two or more medical facilities have the same primary care or mental health HPSA score, preference will be given to the medical facility having the greatest unmet need for primary care physicians and psychiatrists.  Unmet need is the number of primary care physician or psychiatrist full-time equivalents needed to cause the HPSA to no longer meet the threshold for HPSA designation.

3)         An application will not be considered if the inclusion of the applicant will increase the number of primary care physicians or psychiatrists beyond the number needed to eliminate the HPSA designation.

e)         The following selection criteria will apply to specialists:

1)         Applicants will be ranked based on the primary care HPSA score of their respective medical facility.  If an applicant will work at more than one medical facility, the primary care HPSA score of the medical facility where the applicant will predominately work will be used.

2)         If two or more medical facilities have the same primary care HPSA score, preference will be given to the medical facility having the greatest unmet need for specialty medical care.  Unmet need is the number of specialist full-time equivalents needed to cause the HPSA to no longer meet the threshold for HPSA designation.

3)         Specialists who apply through the J-1 visa waiver flex option shall be ranked based on the size of the patient population that will be seen at the medical facility.

f)         The following selection allocations will be used in processing waiver applications:

1)         In the first quarter of the federal fiscal year, waiver recommendations will be initially reserved based on the following:  four for psychiatrists; six for primary care physicians who will serve at medical facilities located in rural areas; seven for primary care physicians who will serve at medical facilities located in urban areas; and 13 for specialists.

2)         Of the 13 waiver recommendations initially reserved for specialists, the Department may approve up to 10 waivers under the J-1 visa waiver flex option.

3)         If an insufficient number of applications are submitted to apportion waiver recommendations based on the allocation in subsection (f)(1), the Department shall take those waiver applications and reallocate them to other categories.

4)         In the second, third, and fourth quarters of the federal fiscal year, remaining waivers may be used for primary care, psychiatry and specialists to work at medical facilities in both rural and urban areas.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 3093, effective February 21, 2023)