Minnesota Legislature
HF 627
1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/23/2015 03:52pm
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A bill for an act
relating to long-term care; modifying nursing facility employee scholarship costs;
modifying the list of health professionals eligible for the health professional
education loan forgiveness program; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2014, sections 144.1501, subdivisions 1, 2, 3; 256B.431, subdivision 36.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Definitions.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply.
new text begin
(b) "Dental therapist" means an individual who is licensed as a dental therapist
under section 150A.06.
new text end
deleted text begin (b)deleted text end new text begin (c)new text end "Dentist" means an individual who is licensed to practice dentistry.
deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (d)new text end "Designated rural area" means a city or township that is:
(1) outside the seven-county metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121,
subdivision 2; and
(2) has a population under 15,000.
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (e)new text end "Emergency circumstances" means those conditions that make it impossible
for the participant to fulfill the service commitment, including death, total and permanent
disability, or temporary disability lasting more than two years.
deleted text begin (e)deleted text end new text begin (f)new text end "Medical resident" means an individual participating in a medical residency in
family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.
deleted text begin (f)deleted text end new text begin (g)new text end "Midlevel practitioner" means a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, nurse
anesthetist, advanced clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant.
deleted text begin (g)deleted text end new text begin (h)new text end "Nurse" means an individual who has completed training and received
all licensing or certification necessary to perform duties as a licensed practical nurse
or registered nurse.
deleted text begin (h)deleted text end new text begin (i) new text end "Nurse-midwife" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program
of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse-midwives.
deleted text begin (i)deleted text end new text begin (j)new text end "Nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a
program of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse
practitioners.
deleted text begin (j)deleted text end new text begin (k)new text end "Pharmacist" means an individual with a valid license issued under chapter 151.
deleted text begin (k)deleted text end new text begin (l)new text end "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to practice medicine in
the areas of family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics,
or psychiatry.
deleted text begin (l)deleted text end new text begin (m)new text end "Physician assistant" means a person licensed under chapter 147A.
deleted text begin (m)deleted text end new text begin (n)new text end "Qualified educational loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation
loan for actual costs paid for tuition, reasonable education expenses, and reasonable living
expenses related to the graduate or undergraduate education of a health care professional.
deleted text begin (n)deleted text end new text begin (o)new text end "Underserved urban community" means a Minnesota urban area or population
included in the list of designated primary medical care health professional shortage areas
(HPSAs), medically underserved areas (MUAs), or medically underserved populations
(MUPs) maintained and updated by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Creation of account.
(a) A health professional education loan forgiveness
program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money from the
account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
(1) for medical residents agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or underserved
urban communities or specializing in the area of pediatric psychiatry;
(2) for midlevel practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to
teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary
program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home or intermediate
care facility for persons with developmental disability or to teach at least 12 credit hours,
or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate
level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720
hours per year in their designated field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate
level or the equivalent at the graduate level. The commissioner, in consultation with
the Healthcare Education-Industry Partnership, shall determine the health care fields
where the need is the greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapy, clinical
laboratory technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
(5) for pharmacists who agree to practice in designated rural areas; deleted text begin and
deleted text end
(6) for dentists agreeing to deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient
encounters to state public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule
discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by
the United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal
Regulations, title 42, section 51, chapter 303deleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end
new text begin
(7) for the following health care professionals agreeing to practice in a Minnesota
nursing home or intermediate care facility for persons with a developmental disability:
new text end
new text begin
(i) dental therapists; or
new text end
new text begin
(ii) other health care technicians working in health care fields where the need is the
greatest, as determined by the commissioner, including, but not limited to, respiratory
therapy.
new text end
(b) Appropriations made to the account do not cancel and are available until
expended, except that at the end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account
that is not committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall
cancel to the fund.
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Eligibility.
(a) To be eligible to participate in the loan forgiveness program,
an individual must:
(1) be a medical or dental resident, a licensed pharmacist or be enrolled in a dentist,
midlevel practitioner, registered nurse, or a licensed practical nurse training program; and
(2) submit an application to the commissioner of health. If fewer applications are
submitted by dental students or residents than there are dentist participant slots available,
the commissioner may consider applications submitted by dental program graduates
who are licensed dentists.
(b) An applicant selected to participate must sign a contract to agree to serve a
minimum three-year full-time service obligation according to subdivision 2, which shall
begin no later than March 31 following completion of required training.
new text begin
(c) To be eligible for the loan forgiveness program, an individual must not be
a recipient of the nursing facility employee scholarship program defined in section
256B.431, subdivision 36.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 256B.431, subdivision 36, is amended to read:
Subd. 36.
Employee scholarship costs and training in English as a second
language.
(a) For the period between deleted text begin July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003deleted text end new text begin October 1,
2015, and September 30, 2017new text end , the commissioner shall provide to each nursing facility
reimbursed under this section, section 256B.434, or any other section, a scholarship per
diem of 25 cents to the total operating payment rate to be used:
(1) for employee scholarships that satisfy the following requirements:
(i) scholarships are available to all employees who work an average of at least deleted text begin 20deleted text end new text begin
tennew text end hours per week at the facility except the administrator, deleted text begin department supervisors, and
registered nursesdeleted text end new text begin and to reimburse student loan expenses for newly hired and recently
graduated registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, and training expenses for
newly hired and recently graduated nursing assistants as defined in section 144A.61,
subdivision 2new text end ; and
(ii) the course of study is expected to lead to career advancement with the facility or
in long-term care, including medical care interpreter services and social work; and
(2) to provide job-related training in English as a second language.
(b) A facility receiving a rate adjustment under this subdivision may submit to the
commissioner on a schedule determined by the commissioner and on a form supplied
by the commissioner a calculation of the scholarship per diem, including: the amount
received from this rate adjustment; the amount used for training in English as a second
language; the number of persons receiving the training; the name of the person or entity
providing the training; and for each scholarship recipient, the name of the recipient,
the amount awarded, the educational institution attended, the nature of the educational
program, the program completion date, and a determination of the per diem amount of
these costs based on actual resident days.
(c) On deleted text begin July 1, 2003deleted text end new text begin October 1, 2017new text end , the commissioner shall remove the 25 cent
scholarship per diem from the total operating payment rate of each facility.
(d) deleted text begin For rate years beginning after June 30, 2003, the commissioner shall provide
to each facility the scholarship per diem determined in paragraph (b).deleted text end In calculating the
per diem under paragraph (b), the commissioner shall allow deleted text begin onlydeleted text end costs related to tuitiondeleted text begin
anddeleted text end new text begin ,new text end direct educational expensesnew text begin , and child care costs and transportation expenses related
to direct educational expensesnew text end .
new text begin
(e) The rate increase under this subdivision is an optional rate add-on that the facility
must request from the commissioner in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. The
rate increase must be used for scholarships as specified in this subdivision.
new text end
new text begin
(f) Nursing facilities that close beds during a rate year can request to have their
scholarship adjustment under paragraph (b) recalculated by the commissioner for the
remainder of the rate year to reflect the reduction in resident days compared to the cost
report year.
new text end
Sec. 5. new text begin DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER; LONG-TERM CARE
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
new text end
new text begin
The commissioner of employment and economic development, in consultation
with the commissioner of health, shall review existing workforce development programs
in order to further the advancement of long-term care careers in rural Minnesota. The
commissioner shall report recommendations regarding training, retaining, and connecting
employees to long-term care facilities in rural Minnesota to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over long-term care and
workforce development by February 1, 2016.
new text end
Sec. 6. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS.
new text end
new text begin
(a) $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2016 and $....... is appropriated in fiscal
year 2017 from the general fund to the commissioner of health for the purposes of the
health professional education loan forgiveness program under Minnesota Statutes, section
144.1501.
new text end
new text begin
(b) $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2016 and $....... is appropriated in fiscal year
2017 from the general fund to the commissioner of human services for the purposes of
nursing facility employee scholarship costs under Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.431,
subdivision 36.
new text end