85R6297 MM-D

By: Miles S.B. No. 1225

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to eligibility requirements for the repayment of certain physician education loans.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 61.532(a) and (b), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(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:

(i) a state supported living center, as defined by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code; or

(ii) a state hospital, as defined by Section 552.0011, Health and Safety Code; or

(C) in accordance with Subsection (b), after funds have been fully allocated for the program year to physicians qualifying under Paragraph (A) or (B); and

(4) unless the physician qualifies under Subsection (a)(3)(B), 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 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)(C) [(a)(3)] in a location other than an area or facility described by Subsection (a)(3)(A) or (B) [a health professional shortage area designated by the Department of State Health Services] if, during the applicable year or years, the physician provides health care services to a designated number of patients who are recipients under the medical assistance program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, or the Texas Women's Health Program 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. The change in law made by this Act to Section 61.532, Education Code, applies only to eligibility for loan repayment assistance under Subchapter J, Chapter 61, Education Code, on the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2017. Eligibility on the basis of an application submitted before September 1, 2017, is covered by the law in effect at the time the application was submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.