2001 Minnesota Statutes

     144.1502 Dentists loan forgiveness. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definition.  For purposes of this 
 section, "qualifying educational loans" means government, 
 commercial, and foundation loans for actual costs paid for 
 tuition, reasonable education expenses, and reasonable living 
 expenses related to the graduate or undergraduate education of a 
 dentist. 

    Subd. 2.    Creation of account; loan forgiveness program. 
  A dentist education account is established in the general 
 fund.  The commissioner of health shall use money from the 
 account to establish a loan forgiveness program for dentists who 
 agree to care for substantial numbers of state public program 
 participants and other low- to moderate-income uninsured 
 patients. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility.  To be eligible to participate 
 in the loan forgiveness program, a dental student must submit an 
 application to the commissioner of health while attending a 
 program of study designed to prepare the individual to become a 
 licensed dentist.  For fiscal year 2002, applicants may have 
 graduated from a dentistry program in calendar year 2001.  A 
 dental student who is accepted into the loan forgiveness program 
 must sign a contract to agree to serve a minimum three-year 
 service obligation during which at least 25 percent of the 
 dentist's yearly patient encounters are delivered 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.  The service obligation shall 
 begin no later than March 31 of the first year following 
 completion of training.  If fewer applications are submitted by 
 dental students than there are participant slots available, the 
 commissioner may consider applications submitted by dental 
 program graduates who are licensed dentists.  Dentists selected 
 for loan forgiveness must comply with all terms and conditions 
 of this section.  

    Subd. 4.    Loan forgiveness.  The commissioner of 
 health may accept up to 14 applicants per year for participation 
 in the loan forgiveness program.  Applicants are responsible for 
 securing their own loans.  The commissioner shall select 
 participants based on their suitability for practice serving 
 public program patients, as indicated by experience or 
 training.  The commissioner shall give preference to applicants 
 who have attended a Minnesota dentistry educational institution 
 and 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 $10,000 per year of service, not to 
 exceed $40,000 or the balance of the qualifying educational 
 loans, whichever is less.  Before receiving loan repayment 
 disbursements and as requested, the participant must complete 
 and return to the commissioner an affidavit of practice form 
 provided by the commissioner verifying that the participant is 
 practicing as required under subdivision 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 3. 

    Subd. 5.    Penalty for nonfulfillment.  If a 
 participant does not fulfill the service commitment under 
 subdivision 3, the commissioner of health shall collect from the 
 participant 100 percent of any payments made for qualified 
 educational loans and interest at a rate established according 
 to section 270.75.  The commissioner shall deposit the money 
 collected in the dentist education account established under 
 subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 6.    Suspension or waiver of obligation.  Payment 
 or service obligations cancel in the event of a participant's 
 death.  The commissioner of health may waive or suspend payment 
 or service obligations in cases of total and permanent 
 disability or long-term temporary disability lasting for more 
 than two years.  The commissioner shall evaluate all other 
 requests for suspension or waivers on a case-by-case basis and 
 may grant a waiver of all or part of the money owed as a result 
 of a nonfulfillment penalty if emergency circumstances prevented 
 fulfillment of the required service commitment. 

    HIST: 1Sp2001 c 9 art 1 s 34