Bill Text: NY A00025 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for the award of regents scholarships and loan forgiveness for nurses on the same terms as physicians; applies to registered professional nurses as defined in section 6903 of the education law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to higher education [A00025 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00025-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           25

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MAGNARELLI  -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  regents  professional
          education  scholarships, health care professional opportunity scholar-
          ships and loan forgiveness for nurses

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  605 of the education law, as
     2  amended by chapter 31 of the  laws  of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    3.  Regents  professional  education  in  medicine [or], dentistry, or
     5  nursing scholarships.  Regents professional education in medicine  [or],
     6  dentistry,  or  nursing  scholarships  shall  be  awarded annually, on a
     7  competitive basis, to students beginning professional study in  medicine
     8  [or],  dentistry,  or  nursing.   One hundred such scholarships shall be
     9  awarded annually to students beginning professional  study  in  medicine
    10  and  two  thousand  such scholarships to students beginning professional
    11  study in nursing, and shall be classified and  allocated  in  accordance
    12  with  regents rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply
    13  to any recipient who receives his or her first award  payment  prior  to
    14  the  nineteen  hundred eighty-five--nineteen hundred eighty-six academic
    15  year. Further, the provisions of this subdivision shall only apply to  a
    16  student  studying  to  be  a registered professional nurse as defined in
    17  section sixty-nine hundred three of this chapter.
    18    § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 605 of the education law, as amended  by
    19  chapter  523  of  the  laws of 1992 and subparagraph 3 of paragraph a as
    20  amended by section 89 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of  the  laws
    21  of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
    22    9.  Regents  physician  and  nursing loan forgiveness program. Regents
    23  physician and nursing loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded  annually

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00242-01-3
        A. 25                               2

     1  to physicians and nurses who agree to practice medicine or nursing in an
     2  area of New York state designated by the regents as having a shortage of
     3  physicians  or nurses.  Such awards shall be classified and allocated in
     4  accordance with regents rules.
     5    a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state
     6  and  licensed  to practice medicine or nursing and shall be a registered
     7  professional nurse as defined in section  sixty-nine  hundred  three  of
     8  this chapter.
     9    (2)  [The  applicant  must  have  completed  a  professional residency
    10  program within the five years immediately preceding the period for which
    11  the first award would be granted, or be within two years  of  completion
    12  of  an  accredited  residency program in a primary care specialty desig-
    13  nated in short supply by the board of regents.
    14    (3)] The applicant must agree to practice medicine or  nursing  in  an
    15  area  in New York state designated as having a shortage of physicians or
    16  nurses. The  regents,  after  consultation  with  the  commissioners  of
    17  health,  corrections and community supervision, mental health and devel-
    18  opmental disabilities, shall designate those regions and  facilities  of
    19  New  York  state  which  have a shortage of physicians or nurses for the
    20  purposes of this section and establish relative rankings thereof.
    21    b. Selection.  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
    22  of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in
    23  the program. An applicant must satisfy at  least  one  of  the  criteria
    24  established.  A  priority  shall  be  accorded  to  any applicant who is
    25  completing the second year of the service requirement and is  reapplying
    26  for  a  new  award. The criteria shall include but not be limited to the
    27  following:
    28    (i) reapplication for a new award by a person who  is  completing  the
    29  second year of a service requirement;
    30    (ii)  receipt  of  specific  training  in  a primary care specialty or
    31  obstetrics, or nursing determined by the regents to be in short supply;
    32    (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage
    33  area;
    34    (iv) receipt of specific training or experience  matching  a  specific
    35  medical need existing in a shortage area; and
    36    (v)  agreement  pursuant  to  [subdivision  (d)]  paragraph  d of this
    37  [section] subdivision to practice in an area determined by  the  regents
    38  to have a severe shortage of primary care physician services and nursing
    39  services.
    40    c.  Notification.  (1)  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved
    41  applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants;
    42    (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants':
    43    (i) eligibility; and
    44    (ii) total undergraduate and medical school and nursing school student
    45  expense;
    46    (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
    47    d. Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall  by
    48  regulation  provide,  a recipient of an award shall have agreed to prac-
    49  tice medicine or nursing in a specific area designated as having a shor-
    50  tage of physicians or nurses for a period  of  twelve  months  for  each
    51  annual payment to be received by the recipient. Physicians and nurses in
    52  training  who  receive  an  award  shall not receive credit toward their
    53  required service for time spent in a training program. [In no case shall
    54  the total number of months of service  required  be  less  than  twenty-
    55  four.]  The  president  shall,  in  consultation  with the commissioner,
    56  develop and secure from each award recipient, a written agreement to[:
        A. 25                               3

     1    (i)] practice medicine or nursing in the designated shortage area[;
     2    (ii) to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments; and
     3    (iii)  to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care in
     4  the designated shortage area being served, or to  the  designated  popu-
     5  lation being served].
     6  If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president
     7  shall  be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be deter-
     8  mined by the formula:
     9                                 A = 2B (t-s)
    10                                    -----
    11                                      t
    12  in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B"  is
    13  the  sum  of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such
    14  amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
    15  were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
    16  total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
    17  and "s" is the number of months of  service  actually  rendered  by  the
    18  recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
    19  this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year  period  beginning  on
    20  the  date  that  the recipient failed to comply with this service condi-
    21  tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
    22  ment of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from  the
    23  program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
    24  institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
    25    Any  obligation  to  comply  with  such provisions as outlined in this
    26  section shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The  commis-
    27  sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
    28  any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.
    29    e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New
    30  York  state higher education services corporation, and the department of
    31  health on forms prescribed by the president, as to  the  performance  of
    32  the  required  services,  commencing with the calendar year in which the
    33  recipient begins to practice medicine or nursing in a shortage area  and
    34  continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or it is determined
    35  that  he  or  she  shall  not  be  obligated  to  complete, the required
    36  services.  If the recipient shall fail to file any report required here-
    37  under within thirty days of written notice to the recipient,  mailed  to
    38  the  address  shown  on the last application for an award or last report
    39  filed, whichever is later, the president of the corporation may impose a
    40  fine of up to  one  thousand  dollars.  The  president  shall  have  the
    41  discretion  to waive the filing of a report, excuse a delay in filing or
    42  a failure to file a report, or waive or reduce any fine imposed for good
    43  cause shown.
    44    f. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply  for  one
    45  additional award.
    46    §  3.  Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31 of the
    47  laws of 1985 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws  of
    48  1988, is amended to read as follows:
    49    § 677.  Regents  physician  and  nursing loan forgiveness program.  1.
    50  Number and certification. Eighty  regents  physician  and  nursing  loan
    51  forgiveness  awards  shall  be  awarded  each year. Such awards shall be
    52  allocated as provided in article thirteen of this  chapter  to  eligible
    53  physicians and nurses as certified to the president by the commissioner.
    54  This  section  shall  apply  only  to  registered professional nurses as
    55  defined in section sixty-nine hundred three of this chapter.
        A. 25                               4

     1    2. Calculation of award amounts.  Each  award  shall  consist  of  two
     2  consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual
     3  payments shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate  and
     4  medical  or  nursing school student loan expense or ten thousand dollars
     5  whichever  is less.   The president shall be responsible for calculating
     6  the dollar amount of each award that [eligibile] eligible candidates may
     7  receive from this program. For the purposes  of  this  section,  student
     8  loan expense shall mean the cumulative total of the annual student loans
     9  covering  the  cost of attendance at an undergraduate institution and/or
    10  medical or nursing school. Interest paid or due on student loans that an
    11  applicant has taken out for use in paying for such undergraduate  and/or
    12  medical or nursing education shall be considered eligible for reimburse-
    13  ment under this program.
    14    3.  Award  disbursement.  a.  Annual  award disbursements shall be the
    15  responsibility of the president and shall occur prior to  the  beginning
    16  of  each  of  the  required terms of service as specified in the service
    17  contract. The board of trustees of the higher education services  corpo-
    18  ration  shall  adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria for deter-
    19  mining successful completion of the  service  contract  and  any  appeal
    20  process  that may be required to implement this paragraph upon recommen-
    21  dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.
    22    b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
    23  successful completion of the  first  year  requirement  of  the  service
    24  contract  as  defined  by  the  president, as well as other criteria set
    25  forth in this section.
    26    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
    27  the date on which it shall have become a law.