1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to higher education; clarifying the loan forgiveness program for nurses;
1.3 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144.1501, subdivision 2.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144.1501, subdivision 2, is amended to 
1.6 	read:
1.7 		Subd. 2.Creation of account. (a) A health professional education loan forgiveness 
1.8 	program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money from the 
1.9 	account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
1.10 	(1) for medical residents agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or underserved 
1.11 	urban communities or specializing in the area of pediatric psychiatry;
1.12 	(2) for midlevel practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to teach 
1.13 	for at least 20 hours 12 credit hours, or 720 hours  per week year  in the nursing field in a 
1.14 	postsecondary program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
1.15 	(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home or intermediate 
1.16 	care facility for persons with developmental disability or to teach for at least 20 hours12 
1.17 	credit hours, or 720 hours per week year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program at 
1.18 	the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
1.19 	(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach for at least 20 hours 12 credit 
1.20 	hours, or 720 hours  per week year  in their designated field in a postsecondary program
1.21 	at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level. The commissioner, in 
1.22 	consultation with the Healthcare Education-Industry Partnership, shall determine the 
1.23 	health care fields where the need is the greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory 
1.24 	therapy, clinical laboratory technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
2.1 	(5) for pharmacists who agree to practice in designated rural areas; and
2.2 	(6) for dentists agreeing to deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient 
2.3 	encounters to state public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule 
2.4 	discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by 
2.5 	the United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal 
2.6 	Regulations, title 42, section 51, chapter 303.
2.7 	(b) Appropriations made to the account do not cancel and are available until 
2.8 	expended, except that at the end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account 
2.9 	that is not committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall 
2.10 	cancel to the fund.