Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1747 3
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By: Representative McAlindon 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 7
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CON CERNING RURAL MEDICA L 8
PRACTICE STUDENT LOA NS AND SCHOLARSHIPS; TO AMEND THE 9
LAW TO INCLUDE STUDE NTS ENROLLED IN ADDI TIONAL 10
MEDICAL PROGRAMS AS ELIGIBLE FOR RECEIPT OF RURAL 11
MEDICAL PRACTICE LOA NS; AND FOR OTHER PU RPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING RURAL MEDICAL 16
PRACTICE STUDENT LOANS AND SCHOLARSHIPS; 17
AND TO AMEND THE LAW TO INCLUDE STUDENTS 18
ENROLLED IN ADDITIONAL MEDICAL PROGRAMS 19
AS ELIGIBLE FOR RECEIPT OF RURAL MEDICAL 20
PRACTICE LOANS. 21
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 24
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -81-703 is amended to read as follows: 26
6-81-703. Loan applications — Medical students and medical school 27
graduates Eligible applicants. 28
(a) Any student accepted for admission to or enro lled in good standing 29
in the College of Medicine of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 30
in studies leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine who is a bona fide 31
resident of Arkansas and meets at least one (1) of the following eligibility 32
criteria may apply for a loan under this subchapter on forms prescribed by 33
the Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student 34
Loan and Scholarship Board : 35
(1) A student who has been accepted for admission to or is 36 HB1747
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enrolled in good standing in the College of Medicine of the University of 1
Arkansas for Medical Sciences in studies leading to the degree of Doctor of 2
Medicine; 3
(2) A student who has been accepted for admission to or is 4
enrolled in good standing in an educational program f or physician assistants 5
accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the 6
Physician Assistant, Inc. or its successor, as required for licensing 7
purposes under § 17-105-101 et seq.; or 8
(3) A student who has been accepted for admissio n to or is 9
enrolled in good standing in a regionally accredited United States college or 10
university with a program in human nutrition, food and nutrition, dietetics, 11
or food systems management, as required for licensing purposes under § 17 -87-12
301 et seq. 13
(b) A graduate of the College of Medicine of the University of 14
Arkansas for Medical Sciences or any accredited medical school in the United 15
States may apply for the community match income incentive program under this 16
subchapter on forms prescribed by the board so long as the applicant 17
satisfies the criteria set forth in § 6 -81-715. 18
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -81-706 is amended to read as follows: 20
6-81-706. Medical students Applicants — Eligibility for initial and 21
renewal loans. 22
(a) The Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical 23
Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board may make rural medically 24
underserved population medical practice loans to the an applicant, each rural 25
medically underserved population medical practice loan being expre ssly made 26
subject to the provisions of § 6 -81-708(c) and § 6-81-710, if it finds that: 27
(1) The applicant is a bona fide resident of Arkansas; 28
(2) The applicant has been accepted for admission to or is 29
enrolled in good standing in the College of Medic ine of the University of 30
Arkansas for Medical Sciences in studies leading to the degree of Doctor of 31
Medicine is a student who has been accepted for admission to or is enrolled 32
in good standing in: 33
(A) The College of Medicine of the University of Arkan sas 34
for Medical Sciences in studies leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine; 35
(B) An educational program for physician assistants 36 HB1747
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located in the State of Arkansas and accredited by the Accreditation Review 1
Commission on Education for the Physician A ssistant, Inc. or its successor, 2
as required for licensing purposes under § 17 -105-101 et seq.; or 3
(C) A regionally accredited United States college or 4
university located in the State of Arkansas with a program in human 5
nutrition, food and nutrition, d ietetics, or food systems management, as 6
required for licensing purposes under § 17 -87-301 et seq.; 7
(3) The applicant is enrolled in a medically underserved and 8
rural practice curriculum, as applicable to the college or educational 9
program for which an applicant has been accepted for admission or in which an 10
applicant is enrolled in good standing ; 11
(4) The applicant needs financial assistance to complete his or 12
her medical studies; 13
(5) The applicant desires to practice medicine in an eligible 14
qualified rural a community with a medically underserved population ; and 15
(6) The applicant is a person of good moral character and one 16
who has the talent and capacity to profit by medical studies. 17
(b) Subject to the availability of funds, an initial rural medically 18
underserved population medical practice loan for one (1) academic year shall 19
be renewable annually for the number of years required to complete studies 20
leading to the Doctor of Medicine a degree necessary for an eligible 21
profession under this subc hapter or for additional amounts, not to exceed the 22
maximum amounts specified in § 6 -81-707, but all subsequent rural medically 23
underserved population medical practice loans shall be granted only upon 24
application by the recipient and a finding by the board that: 25
(1) The applicant has completed successfully the medical 26
required studies of the preceding academic year and remains in good standing 27
as an enrolled student in the college or educational program ; 28
(2) The applicant is enrolled or participating in a medically 29
underserved and rural practice curriculum, as applicable to the college or 30
educational program for which an applicant has been accepted for admission or 31
in which an applicant is enrolled in goo d standing; 32
(3) The applicant continues to be a resident of Arkansas; and 33
(4) The applicant's financial situation continues to warrant 34
financial assistance made under the conditions of this section. 35
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -81-708(c), concerning obligations and 1
conditions incorporated into a written loan contract granted by the Arkansas 2
Rural Medical Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board, is amended to read 3
as follows: 4
(c) Each applicant to whom a rural medically underserved population 5
medical practice loan or loans is granted by the Arkansas Rural Medically 6
Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board 7
shall execute a written loan contract that incorporates the following 8
obligations and conditions: 9
(1)(A) The recipient of a rural medically underserved population 10
medical practice loan or loans shall bindingly contract that he or she shall 11
practice primary care medicine full time in a qualified rural community with 12
a medically underserved population upon completion of: 13
(i) For students who have been accepted for 14
admission to or are enrolled in good standing in the College of Medicine of 15
the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in studies leading to the 16
degree of Doctor of Medicine: 17
(i)(a) His or her medical internship of one (1) year 18
undertaken immediately following the earning of the degree of Doctor of 19
Medicine; 20
(ii)(b) Four (4) additional years of medical 21
training beyond the internship if the training has been approved in adva nce 22
by the Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice 23
Student Loan and Scholarship Board and includes practice experience in a 24
rural medically underserved population community; or 25
(iii)(c) At the request of the recipient of a rural 26
medically underserved population medical practice loan, the Arkansas Rural 27
Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan and 28
Scholarship Board may approve the recipient's request to practice in more 29
than one (1) qualified rural community with a medically underserved 30
population to meet his or her obligation to practice full time if the 31
Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan 32
and Scholarship Board determines, based upon guidelines established by the 33
Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan 34
and Scholarship Board, that the physician need in the rural communities with 35
a medically underserved population cannot sustain a full -time medical 36 HB1747
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practice or that other compelling circumstances exist; and 1
(ii) For students who have been accepted for 2
admission to or are enrolled in good standing in a college or educational 3
program under §§ 6-81-706(a)(2)(B) or (C), the educational program and 4
accompanying requirements in which the students are enrolled . 5
(B) The recipient of a rural medically underserved 6
population medical practice loan or loans shall bindingly contract that for 7
each year's loan he or she shall practice medicine in accordance with 8
subdivision (c)(1)(A) of th is section for a whole year. 9
(C) For each continuous whole year of medical practice, in 10
accordance with subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section, subject to reasonable 11
leave periods, including without limitation vacation, sick leave, continuing 12
medical education, jury duty, funerals, holidays, or military service, the 13
Arkansas Rural Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan 14
and Scholarship Board shall cancel, by converting to a scholarship grant, the 15
full amount of one (1) year's lo an plus accrued interest; 16
(2)(A) The recipient of a rural medically underserved population 17
medical practice loan or loans shall bindingly contract that not engaging in 18
the practice of medicine in accordance with the loan contract and with this 19
subchapter may result in suspension of his or her license to practice 20
medicine in this state. 21
(B) For any contract entered into after August 1, 2007, 22
the recipient's medical license may shall not be suspended unless the 23
recipient's contract : 24
(i) Contract contained a specific term that loss of 25
license was is a consequence of breach ; and the recipient 26
(ii) Recipient signed a written acknowledgment of 27
understanding that the suspension of license was explained to him or her 28
orally as a potential consequen ce of breach of the contractual provisions. 29
(C) The suspension may be for a period of years equivalent 30
to the number of years that the recipient is obligated to practice medicine 31
in a rural area community with a medically underserved population but has not 32
so practiced and until the loan with interest together with any civil money 33
penalties, as reduced by each full year of medical practice according to the 34
terms of the loan contract, is paid in full; 35
(3) Any communication from the University of Arkan sas College of 36 HB1747
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Medicine with any state medical licensing board shall include a notation that 1
the recipient of a rural medically underserved population medical practice 2
loan has a contract with the State of Arkansas to practice medicine in a 3
rural community with a medically underserved population and that breach of 4
that contract may result in suspension of the recipient's Arkansas medical 5
license; 6
(4)(A) In the event that any rural a medically underserved 7
population medical practice loan recipient under t his subchapter does not 8
engage in the practice of medicine in accordance with the terms of this 9
section and of his or her loan contract in order to have the loan contract 10
recognized as a scholarship, the recipient shall remain obligated to repay 11
the loan or loans received, together with interest at the maximum rate 12
allowed by Arkansas law or the federal discount rate plus five percent (5%) 13
per annum, whichever is the lesser, the interest to accrue from the date each 14
payment of funds was received by the reci pient. 15
(B) Neither interest nor the obligation to repay the 16
principal sums accrued shall accrue during any one (1) period of time that 17
the recipient involuntarily serves on active duty in the United States Armed 18
Forces. 19
(C) Repayment of principal w ith interest shall be due and 20
payable in full at the earliest to occur of the following events: 21
(i) Failure to remain enrolled in a medically 22
underserved and rural practice curriculum, as applicable to the college or 23
educational program for which an applicant has been accepted for admission or 24
in which an applicant is enrolled in good standing ; 25
(ii) Failure to remain in enrollment status 26
continuously to completion of the a degree of Doctor of Medicine necessary to 27
meet eligibility criteria under t his subchapter for any reason other than 28
temporary personal illness; 29
(iii) Failure For students who have been accepted 30
for admission to or are enrolled in good standing in the College of Medicine 31
of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in s tudies leading to the 32
degree of Doctor of Medicine, failure to complete internship; 33
(iv)(a) Failure to engage in the a full-time 34
practice of medicine while residing in a qualified rural community with a 35
medically underserved population in Arkansas as defined in § 6-81-701. 36 HB1747
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(b) However, the Arkansas Rural Medically 1
Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board 2
may waive the residency requirement on a case -by-case basis; and 3
(v) Failure to establish a practice as described 4
under subdivision (c)(4)(C)(iv)(a) of this section within six (6) months 5
following either: 6
(a) Either internship or four (4) additional 7
years of medical education that includes practice experience in a rural 8
community with a medically underserved population; or 9
(b) The completion of an educational program 10
in which a student is enrolled and as described under §§ 6 -81-706(a)(2)(B) 11
and (C) and any additional licensure requirements, as applicable ; 12
(5) If an alternate on the waiting list for acceptance to the 13
University of Arkansas College of Medicine enters into a rural medical 14
practice program contract conditioned only upon the applicant's being 15
accepted for admission to the college and otherwise meets the requirements of 16
§ 6-81-706 and if the applicant is moved to the top of the waiting list under 17
§ 6-81-718, the alternate's A contract for an alternate on the waiting list 18
for acceptance to the University of Arkansas College of Medicine shall 19
contain an additional term that breach of the contract may result in civil 20
money penalties in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the loan 21
amount if the applicant who is an alternate on the waiting list for 22
acceptance: 23
(A) Has been accepted for admi ssion to the college; 24
(B) Meets the requirements of § 6 -81-706, as applicable; 25
and 26
(C) Is moved to the top of the waiting list under § 6 -81-27
718. 28
(6) This subsection shall not prohibit the Arkansas Rural 29
Medically Underserved Population Medical Practice Student Loan and 30
Scholarship Board from considering and entering into a negotiated settlement 31
with the rural medically underserved population medical practice loan 32
recipient involving the license suspension, the amount of the civil money 33
penalty, and the terms of repayment of the loan. 34
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