STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4376 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WALCZYK -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to creating the medical professionals across rural New York state student loan repay- ment fund pilot program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 2 29-J to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 29-J 4 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ACROSS RURAL NEW YORK STATE STUDENT LOAN 5 REPAYMENT FUND 6 Section 2999-jj. Creation of fund and cooperating agencies. 7 2999-kk. Administration of funds. 8 2999-ll. Administration agreement. 9 2999-mm. Responsibilities upon effective date of agreement. 10 2999-nn. Documentation. 11 2999-oo. Commitment. 12 2999-pp. Participating professionals. 13 2999-qq. Compensation. 14 2999-rr. Continued qualification. 15 2999-ss. Conditions barring participation. 16 2999-tt. Minimum qualifications for participation. 17 2999-uu. Application criteria. 18 2999-vv. Healthcare provider scoring and cohort size. 19 2999-ww. Announcement of results. 20 2999-xx. Payments and default. 21 § 2999-jj. Creation of fund and cooperating agencies. The department, 22 within amounts appropriated, shall establish the medical professionals 23 across rural New York state student loan repayment fund pilot program, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04471-01-1A. 4376 2 1 in association with the empire state development corporation. The 2 department is also directed to consult with the Fort Drum regional 3 health planning organization and the Iroquois healthcare association as 4 it deems appropriate. Funds shall be transferred by the commissioner of 5 taxation and finance to the department for use as described herein. 6 § 2999-kk. Administration of funds. Monies in the fund shall be: 7 1. held by the department pursuant to this section as custodian pursu- 8 ant to an agreement with the commissioner of taxation and finance, and 9 the empire state development corporation, until transferred pursuant to 10 this section; and 11 2. invested by the department in accordance with the investment guide- 12 lines of the comptroller during said custodial period. All investment 13 income shall be credited to, and shall be deposited in, the fund. 14 § 2999-ll. Administration agreement. The commissioner of taxation and 15 finance, the empire state development corporation, and the department 16 shall enter into an agreement, subject to the approval of the director 17 of the budget, for the purpose of administering the fund. A copy of such 18 agreement, and any amendments thereto, shall be provided to the chair of 19 the senate finance committee, the director of the division of budget, 20 and the chair of the assembly ways and means committee. The agreement 21 shall specify that the department shall administer the fund in a manner 22 that will benefit the public by encouraging the availability of profes- 23 sional service providers, in compliance with all applicable laws, rules, 24 regulations and other requirements. 25 § 2999-mm. Responsibilities upon effective date of agreement. Upon the 26 effective date of the agreement, custody of, and responsibility for, the 27 fund shall be taken up by the department, subject to the requirements of 28 its agreement with the commissioner of taxation and finance and the 29 empire state development corporation. Such agreement shall include, but 30 not be limited to, the following provisions: 31 1. the department shall be responsible for the receipt, management and 32 expenditure of monies held in the fund; 33 2. the department shall maintain books and records pertaining to all 34 monies received and disbursed pursuant to this section and the agree- 35 ment; 36 3. monies in such fund shall be utilized for the purpose of providing 37 student loan repayment funding to qualifying professionals; 38 4. participating professionals shall be chosen by the department 39 through an application process approved by the department, the empire 40 state development corporation, and the comptroller; 41 5. the department shall report quarterly on transactions pertaining to 42 the fund in a form and manner specified by the comptroller in consulta- 43 tion with the commissioner of taxation and finance, and the empire state 44 development corporation, including but not limited to: receipts or 45 deposits to the fund, disbursements, loans or credit enhancement made 46 from the fund, investment income, and the balance on hand as of the end 47 of the month for each such quarter; 48 6. the department shall be required to invest monies on deposit in the 49 fund in accordance with investment guidelines meeting the requirements 50 of the comptroller, and all investment income shall be credited to the 51 fund, and spent therefrom only for the purposes set forth in this 52 section; 53 7. fund monies shall be held in trust and used for the benefit of 54 participating professionals;A. 4376 3 1 8. after two years, the department shall submit a report to the gover- 2 nor and legislature detailing the performance participation and impact 3 of the pilot program; and 4 9. any other term or condition as determined by the department, in 5 consultation with the commissioner of taxation and finance and the 6 empire state development corporation. 7 § 2999-nn. Documentation. Payments from the fund shall be made pursu- 8 ant to a written agreement between the department and the participating 9 professional, specifying the terms of the payments. The agreement shall 10 be in such form and content as shall be acceptable to the comptroller 11 and department, and may include such further written documentation 12 and/or agreements as shall be required in the judgment of the comp- 13 troller and department. Terms may include rescission of payments if a 14 participating professional does not comply with this section or the 15 terms of the participating professional's agreement with the department. 16 § 2999-oo. Commitment. Professionals shall be eligible to participate 17 in this program provided that in addition to any other requirements set 18 forth in this article they: 19 1. make a two year commitment to practice in a tract or county defined 20 by the health resources and services administration as being "rural" or 21 eligible for a rural health grant; and 22 2. such tract is situated, in whole or in part, in the counties of 23 Madison, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, 24 Oswego, or St. Lawrence. 25 § 2999-pp. Participating professionals. The following professionals 26 shall be eligible to receive the benefits of this fund: 27 1. home care service workers, clinical laboratory practitioners, clin- 28 ical laboratory technologists, clinical laboratory cytotechnologists, 29 clinical laboratory technicians, or histological technicians; 30 2. licensed psychologists, licensed master social workers, or licensed 31 clinical social workers; 32 3. midlevel practitioners such as a physical therapist, physiothera- 33 pist, mechanotherapist, dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, 34 nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner, physician assistant, 35 or psychiatrist who is a diplomate of the American board of psychiatry 36 and neurology or is eligible to be certified by that board or is certi- 37 fied by the American osteopathic board of neurology and psychiatry or is 38 eligible to be certified by that board; 39 4. speech-language pathologists or audiologists, occupational thera- 40 pists, or respiratory therapists; 41 5. licensed pharmacists; 42 6. nurses in nursing homes, such as registered professional nurses, 43 licensed practical nurses, or clinical nurse specialists, provided that 44 their service commitment, in addition to any other criteria listed in 45 this article, will also be in a licensed nursing home, intermediate care 46 facility for the developmentally disabled, or hospital if it owns or 47 operates a licensed nursing home, and the professional will spend at 48 least half of their working hours in the nursing home; and 49 7. optometrists, as defined in section seventy-one hundred one of the 50 education law. 51 § 2999-qq. Compensation. Participating professionals shall be compen- 52 sated in the form of payments against their student loans made in the 53 following amounts: 54 1. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 55 annual amount of five thousand dollars for professionals listed inA. 4376 4 1 subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 2 article; 3 2. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 4 annual amount of ten thousand dollars for professionals listed in subdi- 5 vision two of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this arti- 6 cle; 7 3. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 8 annual amount of twenty thousand dollars for professionals listed in 9 subdivision three of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 10 article; 11 4. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 12 annual amount of twelve thousand dollars for professionals listed in 13 subdivision four of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 14 article; 15 5. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 16 annual amount of fifteen thousand dollars for professionals listed in 17 subdivision five of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 18 article; 19 6. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 20 annual amount of five thousand dollars for professionals listed in 21 subdivision six of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 22 article; and 23 7. fifty percent of total qualifying debt annually, up to a maximum 24 annual amount of twelve thousand dollars for professionals listed in 25 subdivision seven of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-pp of this 26 article. 27 § 2999-rr. Continued qualification. Provided that a professional 28 continues to qualify for this program after two years and such pilot 29 program is still in operation, then loan payment amounts will be the 30 balance of any qualifying debt up to the maximum amounts listed in 31 section two thousand nine hundred ninety-nine-qq of this article. 32 § 2999-ss. Conditions barring participation. Participating profes- 33 sionals shall not: 34 1. have any outstanding service obligations to the federal government, 35 state, or other entity; or 36 2. have any judgment liens arising from federal or state debt, and 37 must not be delinquent in child support payments. 38 § 2999-tt. Minimum qualifications for participation. Participating 39 professionals must possess a fully-executed employment contract, or must 40 be able to submit sufficient evidence of intent to establish a private 41 practice and subsequently do so, and must possess all licenses required 42 to practice their chosen profession in the state of New York. Partic- 43 ipating professionals must also be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, 44 and become a legal resident of New York state within ninety days of 45 beginning employment. 46 § 2999-uu. Application criteria. The entities involved in this program 47 may establish additional application criteria at their discretion, 48 provided that such criteria does not narrow the availability of funds or 49 conflict with the intent of this article. 50 § 2999-vv. Healthcare provider scoring and cohort size. Regardless of 51 funding levels, no more than thirty-two participating professionals may 52 enter the program in any fiscal year. Applications shall be collected 53 throughout the year, with a new cohort of no more than eight participat- 54 ing professionals approved each quarter. Each application received shall 55 receive a score which will be calculated as described herein:A. 4376 5 1 1. the maximum score an applicant may receive is fifty. Two independ- 2 ent reviewers, blind to each other's evaluation, will score each appli- 3 cant. The average of the scores given by each reviewer will be the 4 applicant's final score. In the event any two applicants for the same 5 cohort receive the same score, each of their applications will be 6 reviewed a third time and a new average score computed from all three 7 scores received; 8 2. scores will be calculated by taking the discipline specific health 9 professional shortage areas score for the applicant's practice location, 10 and adding a maximum of ten points based on the diversity of medical 11 cases or issues treated at the practice location, and adding a maximum 12 of fifteen points based on the diversity of the patient population in 13 the tract or county where the applicant intends to practice; and 14 3. if a health professional shortage areas score is not available for 15 the applicant's intended practice location then the department shall 16 attempt to estimate one based on the same discipline specific criteria 17 used by the health resources and services administration to generate a 18 health professional shortage areas score. 19 § 2999-ww. Announcement of results. All applicants granted admission 20 to the program will be notified by email and United States mail within 21 twenty-one business days following the conclusion of the quarter during 22 which their application was received. Following the announcement of 23 awards, applicants may request a debriefing from the department no later 24 than ten calendar days from the date of the announcement. This debrief- 25 ing will be limited to the positive and negative aspects of the specific 26 applicant's application. In the event unsuccessful applicants wish to 27 protest their results they must follow the protest procedures estab- 28 lished by the office of the state comptroller in effect at the time 29 their protest is entered. 30 § 2999-xx. Payments and default. Total annual payments shall be 31 disbursed in equal amounts on a monthly basis. 32 1. In the event of default by a participating professional, within one 33 year of defaulting the participating professional shall repay the state 34 of New York the greater of either thirty-one thousand dollars, or the 35 value of the past seven months of loan payments made by the state on 36 behalf of the participating professional. The outstanding balance after 37 one year shall accrue interest at a rate equal to that owed on underpay- 38 ments of New York state income tax. Uncollectable amounts will be 39 referred to the New York state attorney general's office for possible 40 legal action. 41 2. Where default results from an action made by the department the 42 participating professional will not be penalized. 43 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 44 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 45 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 46 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 47 on or before such effective date.