SF 4008

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/06/2020 08:26am

A bill for an act
relating to health; modifying the dentist education loan forgiveness program to
require 50 percent of the funds go to rural dentists; amending Minnesota Statutes
2018, section 144.1501, subdivisions 2, 4.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, 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 and mental health professionals 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; an intermediate care
facility for persons with developmental disability; a hospital if the hospital owns and operates
a Minnesota nursing home and a minimum of 50 percent of the hours worked by the nurse
is in the nursing home; a housing with services establishment as defined in section 144D.01,
subdivision 4; or for a home care provider as defined in section 144A.43, subdivision 4; or
agree 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, advanced dental therapists, dental therapists, and public health nurses
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 new text begin , or agreeing to practice in designated rural areas that are
currently unserved or underserved by similar providers 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. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 144.1501, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Loan forgiveness.

The commissioner of health may select applicants each year
for participation in the loan forgiveness program, within the limits of available funding. In
considering applications, the commissioner shall give preference to applicants who document
diverse cultural competencies. The commissioner shall distribute available funds for loan
forgiveness proportionally among the eligible professions according to the vacancy rate for
each profession in the required geographic area, facility type, teaching area, patient group,
or specialty type specified in subdivision 2. The commissioner shall allocate funds for
physician loan forgiveness so that 75 percent of the funds available are used for rural
physician loan forgiveness and 25 percent of the funds available are used for underserved
urban communities and pediatric psychiatry loan forgiveness. new text begin The commissioner shall
allocate funds for dentist loan forgiveness so that 50 percent of the funds available are used
for rural dentist loan forgiveness. new text end If the commissioner does not receive enough qualified
applicants each year to use the entire allocation of funds for any eligible profession, the
remaining funds may be allocated proportionally among the other eligible professions
according to the vacancy rate for each profession in the required geographic area, patient
group, or facility type specified in subdivision 2. Applicants are responsible for securing
their own qualified educational loans. The commissioner shall select participants based on
their suitability for practice serving the required geographic area or facility type specified
in subdivision 2, as indicated by experience or training. The commissioner shall give
preference to applicants closest to completing their training. For each year that a participant
meets the service obligation required under subdivision 3, up to a maximum of four years,
the commissioner shall make annual disbursements directly to the participant equivalent to
15 percent of the average educational debt for indebted graduates in their profession in the
year closest to the applicant's selection for which information is available, not to exceed the
balance of the participant's qualifying educational loans. Before receiving loan repayment
disbursements and as requested, the participant must complete and return to the commissioner
a confirmation of practice form provided by the commissioner verifying that the participant
is practicing as required under subdivisions 2 and 3. The participant must provide the
commissioner with verification that the full amount of loan repayment disbursement received
by the participant has been applied toward the designated loans. After each disbursement,
verification must be received by the commissioner and approved before the next loan
repayment disbursement is made. Participants who move their practice remain eligible for
loan repayment as long as they practice as required under subdivision 2.