African-American Resident Physician Scholarship Program; establish.

HB 236 establishes the African-American Resident Physician Scholarship Program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. It provides financial assistance to African-American medical residents to increase the number of Black physicians serving in Mississippi's underserved municipalities, counties, or rural areas. Participants must practice for at least five years in designated health professional shortage areas (HPSAs), medically underserved areas (MUAs), or approved rural locations; failure to fulfill this obligation requires full repayment of all scholarship funds received. The bill, which died in committee in February 2026, aims to address physician shortages in underserved communities through a service-based scholarship model.