By: Truan S.B. No. 514
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to expanding certain grant programs formerly limited to
1-3 physicians to include other health care professionals.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 106.101, Health and Safety Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 106.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-8 (1) "Federally qualified health center" has the
1-9 meaning assigned by 42 U.S.C. Section 1396d(l)(2).
1-10 (2) "Health care professional" means:
1-11 (A) a physician assistant;
1-12 (B) an advanced practice nurse;
1-13 (C) a registered nurse;
1-14 (D) a radiologist;
1-15 (E) a pharmacist; and
1-16 (F) any other professional who provides health
1-17 care services, as determined by the executive committee.
1-18 (3) "Medically underserved community" means:
1-19 (A) a community located in an area in this state
1-20 with a medically underserved population;
1-21 (B) a community located in an area in this state
1-22 designated by the United States Secretary of Health and Human
1-23 Services as an area with a shortage of personal health services;
1-24 (C) a population group designated by the United
1-25 States Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage
2-1 of personal health services; or
2-2 (D) a community that meets criteria adopted by
2-3 the board by rule, considering relevant demographic, geographic,
2-4 and environmental factors.
2-5 (4) [(2)] "Physician" means a person licensed to
2-6 practice medicine in this state.
2-7 (5) [(3)] "Primary care" means physician services in
2-8 family practice, general practice, internal medicine, pediatrics,
2-9 obstetrics, or gynecology.
2-10 (6) [(4)] "Start-up money" means a payment made by a
2-11 medically underserved community for reasonable costs incurred by a
2-12 physician to establish a medical office and ancillary facilities
2-13 for diagnosing and treating patients.
2-14 SECTION 2. Subsections (a) through (d), Section 106.102,
2-15 Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-16 (a) The executive committee shall establish and administer a
2-17 program under this subchapter to increase the number of physicians,
2-18 health care professionals, and federally qualified health centers
2-19 providing or assisting in the provision of primary care in
2-20 medically underserved communities.
2-21 (b) A medically underserved community may sponsor a
2-22 physician who has completed a primary care residency program, a
2-23 health care professional, or a federally qualified health center if
2-24 the physician, health care professional, or federally qualified
2-25 health center [and] has agreed to provide or assist in the
2-26 provision of primary care in the community by contributing to
3-1 start-up money for the physician, health care professional, or
3-2 federally qualified health center and having that contribution
3-3 matched in whole or in part by state money appropriated to the
3-4 executive committee for that purpose.
3-5 (c) A participating medically underserved community may
3-6 provide start-up money to an eligible physician, health care
3-7 professional, or federally qualified health center over a two-year
3-8 period.
3-9 (d) The executive committee may not pay more than the
3-10 following amounts [$25,000] to a community in a fiscal year unless
3-11 the executive committee makes a specific finding of need by the
3-12 community:
3-13 (1) $25,000 for eligible physicians;
3-14 (2) $25,000 for eligible health care professionals;
3-15 and
3-16 (3) $50,000 for a federally qualified health center.
3-17 SECTION 3. Section 106.103, Health and Safety Code, is
3-18 amended to read as follows:
3-19 Sec. 106.103. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive money
3-20 from the executive committee, a medically underserved community
3-21 must:
3-22 (1) apply for the money; and
3-23 (2) provide evidence satisfactory to the executive
3-24 committee that it has entered into an agreement with a physician or
3-25 health care professional, or with an entity applying under this
3-26 chapter that has submitted an application for federally qualified
4-1 health center status, under which [for] the physician, health care
4-2 professional, or federally qualified health center shall [to]
4-3 provide or assist in the provision of primary care in the community
4-4 for at least two years.
4-5 SECTION 4. Section 106.104, Health and Safety Code, is
4-6 amended to read as follows:
4-7 Sec. 106.104. RULES. The executive committee shall adopt
4-8 rules necessary for the administration of this subchapter,
4-9 including:
4-10 (1) eligibility criteria for a medically underserved
4-11 community;
4-12 (2) eligibility criteria for a physician;
4-13 (3) eligibility criteria for health care
4-14 professionals;
4-15 (4) eligibility criteria for federally qualified
4-16 health centers;
4-17 (5) minimum and maximum community contributions to the
4-18 start-up money for a physician to be matched with state money;
4-19 (6) [(4)] conditions under which state money must be
4-20 repaid by a community, [or] physician, health care professional, or
4-21 federally qualified health center;
4-22 (7) [(5)] procedures for disbursement of money by the
4-23 executive committee;
4-24 (8) [(6)] the form and manner in which a community
4-25 must make its contribution to the start-up money; and
4-26 (9) [(7)] the contents of an agreement to be entered
5-1 into by the parties to include at least:
5-2 (A) a credit check for an eligible physician or
5-3 health care professional; and
5-4 (B) community retention of interest in any
5-5 property, equipment, or durable goods for seven years.
5-6 SECTION 5. Section 106.151, Health and Safety Code, is
5-7 amended to read as follows:
5-8 Sec. 106.151. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
5-9 (1) "Health care professional" means:
5-10 (A) a physician assistant;
5-11 (B) an advanced practice nurse;
5-12 (C) a registered nurse;
5-13 (D) a radiologist;
5-14 (E) a pharmacist; and
5-15 (F) any other professional who provides health
5-16 care services as determined by the executive committee.
5-17 (2) "Medically underserved area" means an area
5-18 designated by the United States Secretary of Health and Human
5-19 Services as having:
5-20 (A) a shortage of personal health services or a
5-21 population group that has such a shortage as provided by 42 U.S.C.
5-22 Section 300e-1(7); or
5-23 (B) a health professional shortage as provided
5-24 by 42 U.S.C. Section 254e(a)(1).
5-25 (3) [(2)] "Physician" means a resident physician who
5-26 is enrolled in an accredited residency training program in this
6-1 state in the specialty of:
6-2 (A) family practice;
6-3 (B) general internal medicine;
6-4 (C) general pediatric medicine; or
6-5 (D) general obstetrics and gynecology.
6-6 SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 106.152, Health and
6-7 Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
6-8 (a) The executive committee shall establish a program in the
6-9 center to assist communities in recruiting and retaining physicians
6-10 and health care professionals to practice in medically underserved
6-11 areas.
6-12 SECTION 7. Section 106.154, Health and Safety Code, is
6-13 amended to read as follows:
6-14 Sec. 106.154. REQUIRED CONTRACT. (a) The center may award
6-15 a stipend to a physician or a health care professional under this
6-16 subchapter if the physician or the health care professional enters
6-17 into a written contract to provide services in a medically
6-18 underserved area for at least one year for each year that the
6-19 physician or the health care professional receives the stipend.
6-20 (b) The contract must provide that if the physician or the
6-21 health care professional does not provide the required services in
6-22 the medically underserved area or provides those services for less
6-23 than the required term, the physician or the health care
6-24 professional is personally liable to the state for:
6-25 (1) the total amount of the stipend the physician or
6-26 the health care professional receives;
7-1 (2) interest on that total amount for the period
7-2 beginning on the date the physician or the health care professional
7-3 signs the contract and ending on the date the physician or the
7-4 health care professional repays the amount of the stipend computed
7-5 at a rate equal to the sum of:
7-6 (A) the auction average rate quoted on a bank
7-7 discount basis for 26-week treasury bills issued by the United
7-8 States government, as published by the Federal Reserve Board, for
7-9 the week preceding the week in which the contract is signed; and
7-10 (B) five percent; and
7-11 (3) the state's reasonable expenses incurred in
7-12 obtaining payment, including reasonable attorney's fees.
7-13 SECTION 8. Subsections (a), (b), and (d), Section 106.155,
7-14 Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
7-15 (a) The center shall award stipends to physicians or health
7-16 care professionals for one-year periods. A stipend awarded under
7-17 this subchapter may not exceed $15,000 each year.
7-18 (b) The center may renew a stipend used to assist a
7-19 particular physician or health care professional.
7-20 (d) A physician or a health care professional who receives a
7-21 stipend under this subchapter is not eligible to receive assistance
7-22 under a state educational loan repayment program or other state
7-23 incentive program.
7-24 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.