MA Provider Recruitment Program

Provides funding to support health care organizations in their efforts to recruit and hire medical assistants (MAs) to expand the capacity of primary care practices to serve more Medi-Cal members in Merced, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

• Workforce shortages impact access to timely health care services.
• MAs are an integral part of health care provider offices and play a critical role in improving access and ensuring that patients receive the care they need in a timely and efficient manner.
• MAs are integrated into the patient-centered medical home model to streamline patient intake, assist with administrative tasks, facilitate communication with patients and the care team, and provide patient education.
• MAs support primary care teams so that all health care professionals are practicing at the top of their training and licenses.

In addition to the minimum eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal Capacity Grant Program (see Eligibility Guidelines), applicants must meet the following program-specific requirements:

• The applicant entity must be contracted with the Alliance/Medi-Cal and have a track record of contractual compliance and stability.
• An applicant entity may apply for one (1) MA Provider Recruitment grant per funding cycle.
• An applicant entity may apply for no more than three (3) Workforce Recruitment grants for any eligible provider type (including CHW and MA) in a calendar year.
• No more than three (3) Workforce Recruitment grants for any eligible provider type (including CHW and MA) may be open for recruitment at any one time (i.e., two previously awarded grants may be open for recruitment when a new application is submitted).

An organization that recruits and hires an MA prior to the grant award may apply for funding to cover recruitment-related expenses if the MA was hired in the Retro Hiring Period, which is defined as one day after the previous application due date through the current application due date. Please refer to the MCGP Deadlines in the right column of this page.

• There is no guarantee that an application will be approved or that the entity will be reimbursed for recruitment-related costs during the Retro Hiring Period.
• Recruitment date is determined by the date of hire (i.e., date on signed employment contract or offer letter).

• Eligible provider types include medical assistants (MAs) defined as unlicensed persons who have received a certificate or training indicating satisfactory completion of training requirements as specified in Title 16, Division 13, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations and consistent with Alliance Policy 401-1518, Medical Assistants: Scope of Practice and Supervision.
• The recruited MA must be a new addition to (not a transfer within) the Alliance/Medi-Cal network, with a preference for providers who are new to the Medi-Cal provider communities of Merced, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

• The MA Provider Recruitment Program awards grants to subsidize 100% of recruitment-related expenses for new providers in the Alliance service area. The maximum award is $65,000.
• The MA Provider Recruitment Program supports recruitment-related expenses such as first year salary/benefit costs, sign-on bonuses, relocation expenses, costs of maintaining professional liability insurance, fees for professional recruitment agency services, immigration legal fees, costs associated with advertising and certification, and other training costs.
• Training costs already funded through a different grant/incentive program are not eligible for reimbursement. Expenses deemed operational costs are not eligible for reimbursement.
• The grant payment will be made in two installments. Half of the grant payment will be made at the time the grantee successfully hires an eligible MA and submits recruitment-related expenses. The remaining half will be made when the MA is verified as has having maintained employment for six months.
• Applicant entities who are approved for an MA Provider Recruitment grant must recruit the MA within twelve months of signing the Grant Agreement. Providers must apply for credentialing within one month of hiring. Payment requests require documentation verifying date of hire, recruitment expenses and credentialing. Final grant awards will depend on verification of actual expenses but will not exceed the grant award.
• If the grantee is unable to hire the MA within twelve months of the signing of the Grant Agreement, the grant will be withdrawn. If the newly recruited MA leaves the grantee organization before one full year of employment under the term of the grant, which begins when the first grant payment is made after recruitment expenses are submitted, the grantee will have to pay a pro-rated amount back to the Alliance, including a pro-rated amount of the Linguistic Competence Provider Incentive described below, if applicable.

In an effort to support the Alliance’s work to achieve health equity and reduce health disparities related to language and cultural barriers for our members, our Workforce Recruitment Programs offer a Linguistic Competence Provider Incentive for grantee organizations that hire bilingual providers. Learn more on our Linguistic Competence Provider Incentive page.

Visit our How to Apply page for deadlines, instructions and the online application form.

Applications require submission of financial statements. Acceptable financial statement submissions include audited financial statements for the last fiscal year. If one is not available, applicant must include both an organizational profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the last 12 months, with President/CEO/Executive Director sign-off verification.