1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; changing certain provisions in the health professional education 
1.3 	loan forgiveness program;amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 144.1501, 
1.4 	subdivisions 1, 2.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 144.1501, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 
1.8 	apply.
1.9 	(b) "Advanced dental therapist" means an individual who is licensed as a dental therapist 
1.10 	under section 150A.06, and who is certified as an advanced dental therapist under section 
1.11 	150A.106.
1.12 	(c) "Alcohol and drug counselor" means an individual who is licensed under chapter 
1.13 	148F.
1.14 	(d) "Correctional setting" means a county or regional jail, lockup, workhouse, or juvenile 
1.15 	detention center.
1.16 	(e) "Dental therapist" means an individual who is licensed as a dental therapist under 
1.17 	section 150A.06.
1.18 	~~(d)~~ (f) "Dentist" means an individual who is licensed to practice dentistry.
1.19 	~~(e)~~ (g) "Designated rural area" means a statutory and home rule charter city or township 
1.20 	that is outside the seven-county metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 
1.21 	2, excluding the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
2.1 	~~(f)~~ (h) "Emergency circumstances" means those conditions that make it impossible for 
2.2 	the participant to fulfill the service commitment, including death, total and permanent 
2.3 	disability, or temporary disability lasting more than two years.
2.4 	~~(g)~~ (i) "Mental health professional" means an individual providing clinical services in 
2.5 	the treatment of mental illness who is qualified in at least one of the ways specified in section 
2.6 	245.462, subdivision 18.
2.7 	~~(h)~~ (j) "Medical resident" means an individual participating in a medical residency in 
2.8 	family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.
2.9 	~~(i)~~ (k) "Midlevel practitioner" means a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, nurse 
2.10 	anesthetist, advanced clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant.
2.11 	~~(j)~~ (l) "Nurse" means an individual who has completed training and received all licensing 
2.12 	or certification necessary to perform duties as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.
2.13 	~~(k)~~ (m) "Nurse-midwife" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program 
2.14 	of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse-midwives.
2.15 	~~(l)~~ (n) "Nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program 
2.16 	of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse practitioners.
2.17 	~~(m)~~ (o) "Pharmacist" means an individual with a valid license issued under chapter 151.
2.18 	~~(n)~~ (p) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to practice medicine in the areas 
2.19 	of family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.
2.20 	~~(o)~~ (q) "Physician assistant" means a person licensed under chapter 147A.
2.21 	~~(p)~~ (r) "Public health nurse" means a registered nurse licensed in Minnesota who has 
2.22 	obtained a registration certificate as a public health nurse from the Board of Nursing in 
2.23 	accordance with Minnesota Rules, chapter 6316.
2.24 	~~(q)~~ (s) "Qualified educational loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation 
2.25 	loan for actual costs paid for tuition, reasonable education expenses, and reasonable living 
2.26 	expenses related to the graduate or undergraduate education of a health care professional.
2.27 	~~(r)~~ (t) "Underserved urban community" means a Minnesota urban area or population 
2.28 	included in the list of designated primary medical care health professional shortage areas 
2.29 	(HPSAs), medically underserved areas (MUAs), or medically underserved populations 
2.30 	(MUPs) maintained and updated by the United States Department of Health and Human 
2.31 	Services~~.~~, or where:
3.1 	(1) at least 25 percent of a provider's patient case load are public program enrollees or 
3.2 	patients receiving sliding fee schedule discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule 
3.3 	meeting the standards established by the United States Department of Health and Human 
3.4 	Services under Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 51, chapter 303; or
3.5 	(2) at least 25 percent of a provider's case load identify as a racial or ethnic minority or 
3.6 	are experiencing homelessness.

3.7 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 144.1501, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.8 		Subd. 2.Creation of account. (a) A health professional education loan forgiveness 
3.9 	program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money from the 
3.10 	account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
3.11 	(1) for medical residents and mental health professionals agreeing to practice in designated 
3.12 	rural areas or underserved urban communities and correctional settings or specializing in 
3.13 	the area of pediatric psychiatry;
3.14 	(2) for midlevel practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to teach 
3.15 	at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program 
3.16 	at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
3.17 	(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home; an intermediate care 
3.18 	facility for persons with developmental disability; a hospital if the hospital owns and operates 
3.19 	a Minnesota nursing home and a minimum of 50 percent of the hours worked by the nurse 
3.20 	is in the nursing home; a housing with services establishment as defined in section 144D.01, 
3.21 	subdivision 4; or for a home care provider as defined in section 144A.43, subdivision 4; or 
3.22 	agree to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a 
3.23 	postsecondary program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
3.24 	(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 
3.25 	hours per year in their designated field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate 
3.26 	level or the equivalent at the graduate level. The commissioner, in consultation with the 
3.27 	Healthcare Education-Industry Partnership, shall determine the health care fields where the 
3.28 	need is the greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapy, clinical laboratory 
3.29 	technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
3.30 	(5) for pharmacists, advanced dental therapists, dental therapists, and public health nurses 
3.31 	who agree to practice in designated rural areas; ~~and~~
3.32 	(6) for dentists agreeing to deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient 
3.33 	encounters to state public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule 
4.1 	discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by the 
4.2 	United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal Regulations, 
4.3 	title 42, section 51, chapter 303~~.~~; and
4.4 	(7) for alcohol and drug counselors agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or 
4.5 	underserved urban communities and correctional settings.
4.6 	(b) Appropriations made to the account do not cancel and are available until expended, 
4.7 	except that at the end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account that is not 
4.8 	committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall cancel to the 
4.9 	fund.