A420-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: referred to higher education
• Jan 5, 2011: referred to higher education

A420-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                          420
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  ASSEMBLY
 (PREFILED)
 January 5, 2011
 
 Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, LIFTON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
 HEASTIE,  McKEVITT,  PHEFFER, SWEENEY -- read once and referred to the
 Committee on Higher Education
 

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to including dentists  in
 the regents physician loan forgiveness program
 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section  605  of  the  education  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  523  of  the  laws  of 1992, is amended to read as
 follows:

 9. Regents physician AND DENTIST  loan  forgiveness  program.  Regents
 physician  AND DENTIST loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded annually
 to physicians AND DENTISTS who agree to practice medicine  OR  DENTISTRY
 in an area of New York state designated by the regents as having a shor
 tage  of  physicians  OR  DENTISTS.  Such awards shall be classified and
 allocated in accordance with regents rules.
 a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state
 and licensed to practice medicine OR DENTISTRY.
 (2) The applicant must have completed a professional residency program
 within the five years immediately preceding the  period  for  which  the
 first award would be granted, or be within two years of completion of an
 accredited  residency  program in a primary care specialty designated in
 short supply by the board  of  regents,  OR  BE  WITHIN  FIVE  YEARS  OF
 COMPLETION OF A DENTAL DEGREE PROGRAM.
 (3)  The  applicant must agree to practice medicine OR DENTISTRY in an
 area in New York state designated as having a shortage of physicians  OR
 DENTISTS.  The  regents,  after  consultation  with the commissioners of
 health, correctional services, mental health, and mental retardation and
 developmental disabilities, shall designate those regions and facilities
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02083-01-1
 
       A. 420                              2
 of New York state which have a shortage of physicians  OR  DENTISTS  for
 the purposes of this section and establish relative rankings thereof.
 b.  Selection. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
 of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in
 the program. An applicant must satisfy at  least  one  of  the  criteria
 established.  A  priority  shall  be  accorded  to  any applicant who is
 completing the second year of the service requirement and is  reapplying
 for  a  new  award. The criteria shall include but not be limited to the
 following:

 (i) reapplication for a new award by a person who  is  completing  the
 second year of a service requirement;
 (ii)  receipt  of  specific  training  in  a primary care specialty or
 obstetrics, determined by the regents to be in short supply;
 (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage
 area;
 (iv) receipt of specific training or experience  matching  a  specific
 medical OR DENTAL need existing in a shortage area; and
 (v)  agreement  pursuant  to  [subdivision  (d)]  PARAGRAPH  D of this
 [section] SUBDIVISION to practice in an area determined by  the  regents
 to  have  a  severe  shortage  of primary care physician OR PRIMARY CARE
 DENTIST services.
 c. Notification. (1) The  commissioner  shall  then  forward  approved
 applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants;
 (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants':

 (i) eligibility; and
 (ii) total undergraduate and medical OR DENTAL school student expense;
 (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
 d.  Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall by
 regulation provide, a recipient of an award shall have agreed  to  prac
 tice  medicine  OR  DENTISTRY  in a specific area designated as having a
 shortage of physicians OR DENTISTS for a period  of  twelve  months  for
 each  annual  payment  to  be  received by the recipient. Physicians AND
 DENTISTS in training who receive  an  award  shall  not  receive  credit
 toward  their  required service for time spent in a training program. In
 no case shall the total number of months of  service  required  be  less
 than  twenty-four. The president shall, in consultation with the commis
 sioner, develop and secure from each award recipient, a  written  agree
 ment to:

 (i) practice medicine OR DENTISTRY in the designated shortage area;
 (ii)  to  accept  Medicare  [and],  Medicaid,  CHILD HEALTH AND FAMILY
 HEALTH PLUS payments; and
 (iii) to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care  in
 the  designated  shortage  area being served, or to the designated popu
 lation being served.
 If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president
 shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be  deter
 mined by the formula:

 A = 2B (t-s)
 ----
 t
 in  which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B" is
 the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest  on  such
 amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
 were  loans  bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the
 total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated  services;
 and  "s"  is  the  number  of months of service actually rendered by the
 
       A. 420                              3
 recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to  recover  under
 this  paragraph  shall  be paid within the five-year period beginning on
 the date that the recipient failed to comply with  this  service  condi
 tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ
 ment  of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the
 program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
 institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
 Any obligation to comply with such  provisions  as  outlined  in  this
 section  shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The commis
 sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
 any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.
 e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New
 York state higher education services corporation, and the department  of
 health  on  forms  prescribed by the president, as to the performance of
 the required services, commencing with the calendar year  in  which  the
 recipient  begins  to  practice medicine OR DENTISTRY in a shortage area
 and continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or it is deter
 mined that he or she shall not be obligated to  complete,  the  required
 services. If the recipient shall fail to file any report required [here-
 under]  PURSUANT  TO THIS PARAGRAPH within thirty days of written notice
 to the recipient, mailed to the address shown on  the  last  application
 for  an award or last report filed, whichever is later, the president of
 the corporation may impose a fine of up to  one  thousand  dollars.  The
 president  shall  have  the  discretion to waive the filing of a report,
 excuse a delay in filing or a failure to file  a  report,  or  waive  or
 reduce any fine imposed for good cause shown.
 f.  Other  awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply for one
 additional award.
 

S 2.

Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31  of  the
 laws  of  1985,  subdivision  1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws of
 1988, is amended to read as follows:

 

S 677. Regents physician AND  DENTIST  loan  forgiveness  program.  1.
 Number  and  certification.  Eighty  regents  physician AND DENTIST loan
 forgiveness awards shall be awarded each  year.  Such  awards  shall  be
 allocated  as  provided  in  article thirteen of this [chapter] TITLE to
 eligible physicians AND DENTISTS as certified to the  president  by  the
 commissioner.
 2.  Calculation  of  award  amounts.  Each  award shall consist of two
 consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual
 payments  shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and
 medical OR DENTAL school student loan expense or  ten  thousand  dollars
 whichever  is  less.  The president shall be responsible for calculating
 the dollar amount of each award that [eligibile] ELIGIBLE candidates may
 receive from this program. For the purposes  of  this  section,  student
 loan expense shall mean the cumulative total of the annual student loans
 covering  the  cost of attendance at an undergraduate institution and/or
 medical OR DENTAL school.  Interest paid or due on student loans that an
 applicant has taken out for use in paying for such undergraduate  and/or
 medical  OR DENTAL education shall be considered eligible for reimburse
 ment under this program.
 3. Award disbursement. a. Annual  award  disbursements  shall  be  the
 responsibility  of  the president and shall occur prior to the beginning
 of each of the required terms of service as  specified  in  the  service
 contract.  The board of trustees of the higher education services corpo
 ration shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria  for  deter
 mining  successful  completion  of  the  service contract and any appeal
 
       A. 420                              4
 process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon  recommen
 dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.
 b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
 successful  completion  of  the  first  year  requirement of the service
 contract as defined by the president, as  well  as  other  criteria  set
 forth in this section.
 

S  3.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law, provided that  the  amend
 ments  to  subdivision  9  of  section 605 of the education law, made by
 section one of this act, and to section 677 of the education  law,  made
 by  section  two  of  this  act shall not affect the termination of such
 provisions of the education law pursuant to section 17 of chapter 31  of
 the laws of 1985, as amended, and shall terminate therewith.

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