Bill Text: NJ A4660 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Reproductive Health Care Professionals Loan Redemption Program; appropriates $5 million.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-25 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A4660 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4660-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program; appropriates $5 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a loan redemption program for reproductive health care professionals, supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. The cost of becoming a physician has increased exponentially, with some health care professionals accruing more than $200,000 in student loans.
b. One-third of New Jersey's counties, home to more than a quarter of all New Jersey women, do not have an abortion provider.
c. Geographic proximity to reproductive health care services is imperative and a lack of nearby providers remains a key barrier to timely, quality care.
d. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 21 states and counting have banned or severely restricted abortion access, leading New Jersey to become a vital resource for people seeking abortions.
e. Abortion providers have experienced an increase in out-of-State patients, many of whom come to New Jersey because abortion is illegal in their home state.
f. Establishing a loan redemption program for reproductive health care professionals will reduce the costs associated with becoming a health care professional and increase the number of providers available in the State who care for the increasing number of patients requiring reproductive health care services.
2. As used in this act:
"Abortion" means any medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy and services rendered to facilitate the termination which may include follow up care, except for the purpose of producing a live birth. Abortion includes, but is not limited to, aspiration abortion and medication abortion.
"Approved site" means a site providing reproductive health care services, which shall be approved by the authority in consultation with the Department of Health. Approved sites may include, but are not limited to, sites operated by a nonprofit organization, hospitals, clinics, physicians' offices, and other facilities providing reproductive health care services. An approved site shall include sites providing abortions.
"Aspiration abortion" means a procedure that terminates a pregnancy utilizing manual or electric suction to empty the uterus.
"Authority" means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
"Eligible reproductive health care professional" means a person who: is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to provide health care services pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes and is providing reproductive health care services in the State.
"Executive director" means the executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
"Program" means the Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program established pursuant to this act.
"Program participant" means an eligible reproductive health care professional who contracts with the authority to engage in the clinical practice of reproductive health care services at an approved site in exchange for the redemption of qualifying student loan amounts.
"Qualifying student loan amounts" means the cumulative outstanding balance of State, federal, or commercial student loans at the time an applicant is selected for the program, which an applicant has borrowed to pay for the cost of attendance for undergraduate or graduate education at an institution of higher education. Interest paid or due on qualifying student loan amounts shall be considered eligible for reimbursement under the program.
"Reproductive health care services" means and includes medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services relating to the human reproductive system including, but not limited to, services relating to pregnancy, contraception, or abortion.
"Total and permanent disability" means a physical or mental disability that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death and renders a program participant unable to perform the program participant's contractual obligation, as determined by the executive director or the executive director's designee.
3. There is established a Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The program shall provide for the redemption of a portion of the qualifying student loan amounts of a program participant for each period of service at an approved site.
4. a. To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant shall:
(1) be a resident of the State;
(2) be employed as an eligible reproductive health care professional at an approved site; and
(3) submit an application in a manner determined by the executive director.
b. The executive director, or the executive director's designee, shall select the program participants from among those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, subject to available funds. The executive director shall give preference to applicants employed as an eligible reproductive health care professional in a county facing a shortage of reproductive health care professionals.
c. The program participant shall enter into a written contract with the authority to participate in the program. The contract shall specify the duration of the program participant's required service and the total amount of qualifying student loan amounts to be redeemed by the State in return for service.
d. The redemption of loans under the program shall amount to 18 percent of the program participant's qualifying student loan amounts in return for one full year of service at an approved site, an additional 26 percent for a second full year of service, an additional 28 percent for a third full year of service, and an additional 28 percent for a fourth full year of service. Total redemption of qualifying student loan amounts under the program shall not exceed $200,000.
e. The period of service shall commence on or after the date of enactment of this act.
f. No amount of qualifying student loan amounts shall be redeemed for services performed for less than a full year.
5. a. A program participant who has entered into a redemption contract with the authority may nullify that contract by submitting written notification to the authority and assuming full responsibility for repayment of the full amount of the program participant's student loan amounts.
b. In the case of a program participant's death or total and permanent disability, the authority shall nullify the service obligation of the program participant.
c. The authority may nullify or suspend a program participant's service obligation if continued enforcement of the contract may result in extreme hardship.
6. A reproductive health care professional who is participating in the federally administered National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, section 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. s.254 l-1), or any other loan redemption program administered by the authority shall not be eligible to participate simultaneously in the program.
7. The authority shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
8. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the sum of $5,000,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act.
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA). The loan redemption program is to provide for the redemption of a portion of a program participant's State, federal, or commercial student loans in exchange for the program participant's service at a site providing reproductive health care services, as approved by the authority. Under the bill, the sites may include sites operated by a nonprofit organizations, hospitals, clinics, physicians' offices, and other facilities providing reproductive health care services. An approved site under the bill includes sites providing abortion care.
To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant is required to: (1) be a resident of the State; (2) be employed as an eligible reproductive health care professional, defined as a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to provide health care services and who is providing reproductive health care services in the State; and (3) submit an application in a manner determined by the executive director of the HESAA.
In selecting program participants, the executive director is required to give preference to applicants employed as an eligible reproductive health care professional in a county facing a shortage of reproductive health care professionals. The bill stipulates that a selected program participant is to enter into a written contract with the authority. The contract is to specify the duration of the program participant's required service and the total amount of student loans to be redeemed in return for the service.
Under the bill, loan redemption is to amount to 18 percent of a program participant's qualifying loan amounts in return for one full year of service at an approved site, an additional 26 percent for a second full year of service, an additional 28 percent for a third full year of service, and an additional 28 percent for a fourth full year of service. The total loan redemption for a program participant is not to exceed $200,000.
Finally, the bill stipulates that a reproductive health care professional, who is participating in the National Health Services Corps Loan Repayment Program or any other loan redemption program administered by the authority, is not eligible to simultaneously participate in the Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program.
