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| To enact sections 4783.01 to 4783.09 of the Revised | 1 |
| Code to require the Director of Health to | 2 |
| establish the Ohio Health Care Professional Loan | 3 |
| Repayment Program. | 4 |
| Section 1. That sections 4783.01, 4783.02, 4783.03, 4783.04, | 5 |
| 4783.05, 4783.06, 4783.07, 4783.08, and 4783.09 of the Revised | 6 |
| Code be enacted to read as follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 4783.01. The director of health shall establish and | 8 |
| administer the Ohio health care professional loan repayment | 9 |
| program, which shall be modeled on the national health services | 10 |
| corps loan repayment program. To the extent funds are available, | 11 |
| the program shall provide grants to health care professionals to | 12 |
| assist in repayment of qualifying educational loans. | 13 |
| The program shall be in addition to and administered | 14 |
| separately from the physician loan repayment program established | 15 |
| under sections 3702.71 to 3702.81 of the Revised Code and the | 16 |
| dentist loan repayment program established under sections 3702.85 | 17 |
| to 3702.95 of the Revised Code. | 18 |
| Sec. 4783.02. As used in sections 4783.01 to 4783.09 of the | 19 |
| Revised Code: | 20 |
| (A) "Primary care specialty" means all of the following: | 21 |
| (1) In the case of a physician or physician assistant, family | 22 |
| practice, obstetrics and gynecology, general internal medicine, | 23 |
| geriatrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry; | 24 |
| (2) In the case of a certified nurse practitioner, adult | 25 |
| practice, family practice, pediatrics, psychiatric-mental health, | 26 |
| geriatrics, and women's health; | 27 |
| (3) In the case of a dentist, general dentistry and pediatric | 28 |
| dentistry. | 29 |
| (B) "Qualifying educational loans" means outstanding | 30 |
| government or commercial loans for undergraduate or graduate | 31 |
| education that are obtained and used solely for tuition and other | 32 |
| reasonable educational expenses and for reasonable living | 33 |
| expenses. | 34 |
| Sec. 4783.03. The director of health may solicit and accept | 35 |
| gifts and grants to be used for the Ohio health care professional | 36 |
| loan repayment program. Any gifts or grants, application fees, | 37 |
| amounts received due to failure to complete service obligations, | 38 |
| and amounts appropriated by the general assembly shall be | 39 |
| deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the health care | 40 |
| professional loan repayment program fund, which is hereby created. | 41 |
| Sec. 4783.04. The director of health shall adopt such rules | 42 |
| as the director considers appropriate for the administration of | 43 |
| the Ohio health care professional loan repayment program. | 44 |
| The rules shall establish grants to be made to participants, | 45 |
| service obligations required of participants, and monetary | 46 |
| penalties for failure to complete service obligations. The rules | 47 |
| may provide for varying grant amounts based on the length of | 48 |
| service obligations and whether the service is to be full time or | 49 |
| part time. | 50 |
| The rules shall specify the information and supporting | 51 |
| documentation that must be provided by applicants for | 52 |
| participation in the program and may establish application fees. | 53 |
| All rules shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of | 54 |
| the Revised Code. | 55 |
| Sec. 4783.05. The director of health may designate as a | 56 |
| health service site for the purposes of the Ohio health care | 57 |
| professional loan repayment program any health care facility that | 58 |
| provides outpatient primary health services to persons residing in | 59 |
| urban or rural health shortage areas designated under section | 60 |
| 3702.76 of the Revised Code. | 61 |
| Sec. 4783.06. The director of health shall accept and | 62 |
| consider an application for the Ohio health care professional loan | 63 |
| repayment program from any of the following health care | 64 |
| professionals who are authorized to practice in this state: | 65 |
| (A) A physician who practices a primary care specialty and | 66 |
| has one of the following qualifications: | 67 |
| (1) Certification in a primary care specialty from a | 68 |
| specialty board approved by the American board of medical | 69 |
| specialties or the American osteopathic association; | 70 |
| (2) Has completed, or will complete prior to commencing | 71 |
| service, a residency program approved by the accreditation council | 72 |
| for graduate medical education or the American osteopathic | 73 |
| association in a primary care specialty. | 74 |
| (B) A physician assistant who practices under the supervision | 75 |
| of a physician who practices a primary care specialty; | 76 |
| (C) A certified nurse practitioner who practices a primary | 77 |
| care specialty; | 78 |
| (D) A certified nurse-midwife; | 79 |
| (E) A clinical nurse specialist who specializes in | 80 |
| psychiatric or mental health services; | 81 |
| (F) A dentist who practices a primary care specialty; | 82 |
| (G) A dental hygienist; | 83 |
| (H) An independent marriage and family therapist; | 84 |
| (I) A professional clinical counselor; | 85 |
| (J) A licensed independent social worker; | 86 |
| (K) A psychologist who has passed the examination for | 87 |
| professional practice of psychology. | 88 |
| Sec. 4783.07. To be eligible to participate in the Ohio | 89 |
| health care professional loan repayment program, a health care | 90 |
| professional must meet all of the following requirements: | 91 |
| (A) Be a citizen or national of the United States by birth or | 92 |
| naturalization; | 93 |
| (B) Participate or be eligible to participate as a provider | 94 |
| in one or more of the following: medicare, medicaid, and the | 95 |
| children's health insurance program; | 96 |
| (C) Have accepted a position at a health service site | 97 |
| designated by the director of health under section 4783.05 of the | 98 |
| Revised Code; | 99 |
| (D) Not have any outstanding service obligation for a health | 100 |
| professional or other service to the federal government or another | 101 |
| entity that will not be completed before participation in the | 102 |
| program begins; | 103 |
| (E) Not be in breach of a health professional service | 104 |
| obligation to the federal government or a state or local | 105 |
| government; | 106 |
| (F) Not be excluded, debarred, suspended, or disqualified by | 107 |
| a federal agency for misconduct. | 108 |
| Sec. 4783.08. Application for the Ohio health care | 109 |
| professional loan repayment program shall be made on a form | 110 |
| developed and provided by the Ohio department of health. An | 111 |
| application is complete only if it includes all information and | 112 |
| supporting documentation required by rules adopted under section | 113 |
| 4783.04 of the Revised Code. The application must be accompanied | 114 |
| by any fee required by those rules. | 115 |
| Sec. 4783.09. The director of health shall consider each | 116 |
| qualified applicant for the Ohio health care professional loan | 117 |
| repayment program on the basis of the applicant's ability and | 118 |
| commitment to service to the medically underserved in health | 119 |
| shortage areas. The director shall select the program's | 120 |
| participants. The director shall determine the amount of each | 121 |
| grant and each participant's service obligation in accordance with | 122 |
| rules adopted under section 4783.04 of the Revised Code. | 123 |
| A health care professional who accepts a grant from the | 124 |
| program shall fulfill the service obligation specified by the | 125 |
| director. A health care professional who fails to fulfill a | 126 |
| service obligation without good cause shall repay the amount | 127 |
| accepted and pay the monetary penalty specified in rules adopted | 128 |
| under section 4783.04 of the Revised Code. The director shall | 129 |
| determine whether there is good cause for failure to complete a | 130 |
| service obligation. The director's decision is final. | 131 |