S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  6332

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            December 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

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
of New York state which have a shortage of physicians  OR  DENTISTS  for
the purposes of this section and establish relative rankings thereof.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02303-01-9

              

S. 6332                             2

  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
recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year  period  beginning  on

S. 6332                             3

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
process  that may be required to implement this paragraph upon recommen-
dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.

S. 6332                             4

  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.