(a) National Health Maintenance Organization Intern Program
(1)
The Secretary shall establish a National Health Maintenance Organization Intern Program (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the “Program”) for the purpose of providing training to individuals to become administrators and medical directors of health maintenance organizations or to assume other managerial positions with health maintenance organizations. Under the Program the Secretary may directly provide internships for such training and may make grants to or enter into contracts with health maintenance organizations and other entities to provide such internships.
(2)
No internship may be provided by the Secretary and no grant may be made or contract entered into by the Secretary for the provision of internships unless an application therefor has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary. Such an application shall be in such form and contain such information, and be submitted to the Secretary in such manner, as the Secretary shall prescribe. Section 300e–5 of this title does not apply to an application submitted under this section.
(3)
Internships under the Program shall provide for such stipends and allowances (including travel and subsistence expenses and dependency allowances) for the recipients of the internships as the Secretary deems necessary. An internship provided an individual for training at a health maintenance organization or any other entity shall also provide for payments to be made to the organization or other entity for the cost of support services (including the cost of salaries, supplies, equipment, and related items) provided such individual by such organization or other entity. The amount of any such payments to any organization or other entity shall be determined by the Secretary and shall bear a direct relationship to the reasonable costs of the organization or other entity for establishing and maintaining its training programs.
(4)
Payments under grants under the Program may be made in advance or by way of reimbursement, and at such intervals and on such conditions, as the Secretary finds necessary.
(b) Technical assistance
The Secretary shall provide technical assistance (1) to entities intending to become a qualified health maintenance organization within the meaning of section 300e–9(d) [1] of this title, and (2) to health maintenance organizations. The Secretary may provide such technical assistance through grants to public and nonprofit private entities and contracts with public and private entities.
(c) Amounts provided in advance in appropriation acts
The authority of the Secretary to enter into contracts under subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective for any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in advance by appropriation Acts.
(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XIII, § 1317, as added Pub. L. 95–559, § 7(a), Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2134; amended Pub. L. 99–660, title VIII, § 803(b)(4), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3800.)