SF 3205

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; clarifying the loan forgiveness program for nurses;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144.1501, subdivision 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, 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 for at least 20 hours per week in the nursing field in a postsecondary program;

(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home or intermediate
care facility for persons with developmental disability or to teach deleted text begin for deleted text end at least deleted text begin 20 hours deleted text end
new text begin six credit hours new text end per deleted text begin week deleted text end new text begin term new text end in the nursing field in a postsecondary program new text begin at the
undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level new text end ;

(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach for at least 20 hours per week
in their designated field in a postsecondary program. 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; and

(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 303.

(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.