2008 Minnesota Statutes

144.1488 PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND ELIGIBILITY.

Subdivision 1.Duties of commissioner of health.

The commissioner shall administer the state loan repayment program. The commissioner shall:

(1) ensure that federal funds are used in accordance with program requirements established by the federal National Health Services Corps;

(2) notify potentially eligible loan repayment sites about the program;

(3) develop and disseminate application materials to sites;

(4) review and rank applications using the scoring criteria approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Minnesota Department of Health's National Health Services Corps state loan repayment program application;

(5) select sites that qualify for loan repayment based upon the availability of federal and state funding;

(6) carry out other activities necessary to implement and administer sections 144.1487 to 144.1492;

(7) verify the eligibility of program participants;

(8) sign a contract with each participant that specifies the obligations of the participant and the state;

(9) arrange for loan repayment of qualifying educational loans for program participants;

(10) monitor the obligated service of program participants;

(11) waive or suspend service or payment obligations of participants in appropriate situations;

(12) place participants who fail to meet their obligations in default; and

(13) enforce penalties for default.

Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 1995 c 212 art 3 s 60; 1995 c 234 art 8 s 57]

Subd. 3.Eligible loan repayment sites.

Nonprofit private and public entities located in and providing health care services in federally designated primary care health professional shortage areas are eligible to apply for the program. The commissioner shall develop a list of Minnesota health professional shortage areas in greatest need of health care professionals and shall select loan repayment sites from that list. The commissioner shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the geographic distribution of sites within the state reflects the percentage of the population living in rural and urban health professional shortage areas.

Subd. 4.Eligible health professionals.

(a) To be eligible to apply to the commissioner for the loan repayment program, health professionals must be citizens or nationals of the United States, must not have any unserved obligations for service to a federal, state, or local government, or other entity, must have a current and unrestricted Minnesota license to practice, and must be ready to begin full-time clinical practice upon signing a contract for obligated service.

(b) Eligible providers are those specified by the federal Bureau of Health Professions in the policy information notice for the state's current federal grant application. A health professional selected for participation is not eligible for loan repayment until the health professional has an employment agreement or contract with an eligible loan repayment site and has signed a contract for obligated service with the commissioner.

History:

1993 c 345 art 11 s 17; 1995 c 212 art 3 s 45,46; 1995 c 234 art 8 s 36,37; 1999 c 247 s 10-12; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 7 s 31