MA Recruitment Program

Applicants must meet eligibility requirements for the Medi-Cal Capacity Grant Program. In addition, applicants must meet the following program-specific requirements:

• The applicant entity must have a primary care contract with the Alliance/Medi-Cal and have a track record of contractual compliance and stability.
• No more than three (3) Workforce Recruitment grants for any eligible provider type (CHW, Doula, MA and Provider) 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).

Eligible recruits:

• Must be a medical assistant (MA) defined as an unlicensed person who has 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.
• It is preferred that MA recruits are new additions to (not a transfer within) the Alliance/Medi-Cal network and new to the Medi-Cal provider communities of Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

Applications that demonstrate a commitment to implement the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards and to hire providers who provide culturally and linguistically competent care are strongly preferred.

Additional funding will be provided to applicant entities that recruit and hire providers who meet certain criteria for oral language proficiency. See the Linguistic Competence Provider Incentive page.

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 (defined as one day after the previous application due date through the current application due date).

• 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 start date (i.e., verified start date of recruited MA as substantiated by payroll).

Amount

The MA Recruitment Program awards grants to subsidize 100% of recruitment-related expenses for MA recruits. The maximum award is $65,000.

Final grant awards will depend on verification of actual expenses but will not exceed the grant award.

Please refer to the Workforce Recruitment Programs Eligible Expenses for a complete list of eligible and ineligible expenses. 

Payment requests and installments

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.

Payment requests require documentation verifying:

• Start date.

• Recruitment expenses.

• Retention of recruited MA.

Conditions for funding withdrawals

Applicant entities who are approved for an MA Recruitment grant must recruit the MA within twelve months of signing the Grant Agreement.

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 based on the verified start date as reported when 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 or tax return for the last fiscal year. If neither document is available, an organizational profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the last complete year (12-month period) is acceptable.