83R10204 AED-D
By: West S.B. No. 1617
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to providing loan repayment assistance for physicians
providing services to certain patients.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.532, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.532. ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive
repayment assistance, a physician must:
(1) apply to the coordinating board;
(2) at the time of application, be licensed to
practice medicine under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
(3) have completed one, two, three, or four
consecutive years of practice:
(A) in a health professional shortage area
designated by the Department of State Health Services; or
(B) in accordance with Subsection (b); and
(4) provide health care services to:
(A) recipients under the medical assistance
program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;
(B) enrollees under the child health plan program
authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or
(C) persons committed to a secure correctional
facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department [Youth Commission] or persons confined in a
secure correctional facility operated by or under contract with any
division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(b) A physician may complete one or more years of practice
required by Subsection (a)(3) in a location other than a health
professional shortage area designated by the Department of State
Health Services if, during each year of eligibility, the physician
provides health care services to patients and at least 30 percent of
the patients receiving services from the physician are recipients
under the medical assistance program authorized by Chapter 32,
Human Resources Code, according to criteria established by the
board in consultation with the Health and Human Services
Commission. The Health and Human Services Commission shall verify
a physician's compliance with this subsection, and the board and
the commission shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for
that purpose.
SECTION 2. Section 61.538, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a [A] physician
may receive repayment assistance under this subchapter in the
amount determined by board rule, not to exceed the following
amounts for each year for which the physician establishes
eligibility for the assistance:
(1) for the first year, $25,000;
(2) for the second year, $35,000;
(3) for the third year, $45,000; and
(4) for the fourth year, $55,000.
(d) A physician who establishes eligibility under Section
61.532(b) may receive repayment assistance under this subchapter in
an amount that is not less than 20 percent of the original total
amount of the physician's loans for each year the physician
establishes eligibility for the assistance.
SECTION 3. Section 61.5391, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) The physician education loan repayment program account
is an account in the general revenue fund. The account is composed
of:
(1) gifts and grants contributed to the account;
(2) earnings on the principal of the account; and
(3) other amounts deposited to the credit of the
account, including:
(A) money deposited under Section 61.539(b) or
61.5392;
(B) legislative appropriations; and
(C) money deposited under Section 155.2415, Tax
Code.
(c) Money deposited to the credit of the account under
Section 61.5392 may be used only to provide loan repayment
assistance to physicians who establish eligibility for the
assistance under Section 61.532(a)(4)(A) or (b).
SECTION 4. Subchapter J, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.5392 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.5392. MEDICAID MATCHING FUNDS. (a) For the
purposes of this subchapter, the Health and Human Services
Commission shall seek any federal matching funds that are available
to support Medicaid services in this state.
(b) Any amount received under Subsection (a) shall be
transferred to the comptroller to be deposited in the physician
education loan repayment program account established under Section
61.5391. Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to any
amount deposited under this section.
SECTION 5. Not later than October 1, 2013, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board and the Health and Human Services
Commission shall enter into the memorandum of understanding
required by Section 61.532(b), Education Code, as added by this
Act. As soon as practicable after the date of the memorandum, the
board shall begin awarding loan repayment assistance to physicians
who establish eligibility under that subsection.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.